The Pressure in Todays High Schools - 1557 Words

â€Å"Education is not the filling of a vessel, but the kindling of a flame.† –Socrates (Secret). Unfortunately, many school systems, today, are not following Socrates’ advice. Many teachers have forgotten what learning is all about, and as students mindlessly memorize facts and figures, the only flame being kindled is their burning hatred towards school. Students stress about grades and believe that their self-worth is defined by their GPA. As they struggle under never-ending piles of homework and standardized tests, there is little time for students to worry about sports, family, health, rest, or even learning. The unnecessary pressure that today’s high school students suffer from has a huge effect on social lives, mental stability, and†¦show more content†¦Natalie Wolchover of Live Science backs this up by saying that countries where students do more homework tend to have lower scores on PISA tests (Program for International Student Assessment) . David Baker and Gerald LeTendre, professors at Penn State University, discovered that countries such as Japan that received high scores on international standardized tests do not have very much homework, and less successful countries such as Greece and Iran tend to give a lot of homework to students. In Finland, a country that received great scores on these tests, students usually receive an average of about 30 minutes of homework each night (Hancock). The scores proved that homework does not improve standardized test scores. While homework creates a lot of stress for students, pressure to do well on standardized tests may cause even more anxiety. According to an article about student-achievement testing, students don’t want to let down their parents or teachers, and they have lot of pressure to do well on these tests. Unfortunately, they don’t always handle this pressure very well. Sometimes this stress can lead to cheating on the tests. Often, bad scores on the sta ndardized tests will cause students to be discouraged and quit trying in school (Student). Any student can face these problems, but according to research done by the University of Connecticut,Show MoreRelatedWhat Are Your Plans For Next Year?1398 Words   |  6 Pagesare you applying for school?† â€Å"What do you want to do with your life?† These are the kind of daunting and overwhelming questions young people are bombarded with on a daily basis. These type of questions are not just quick one worded answers with not much meaning that a high school students can think up quickly. These kind of questions require a lot of thinking and reflecting on the student because it is regarding the rest of their life and how it is going to be spent. 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