KVHS: Academic Stress

By: Katie Munn

“Like deer in the headlights, they are often immobilized by all the stress,” says expert Eli Bay, of The Relaxation Response Institute in Toronto.

“Cheating does not make you a smarter or better person. If you set reachable goals, study hard and get outside help, you can succeed academically without cheating.”

A major message: Learn good organizational skills so you can live a balanced life, with time for schoolwork, friends, family, and activities.

No doubt, school is tough. For some it’s the worry of being able to get enough credits to graduate high school, while for others it’s being able to get a 4.0 GPA and get into Stanford. No matter what our goals are, we all struggle with a tremendous amount of stress and pressure.

External forces also create academic pressure. Many of us fail in the subject of time management and excel at procrastination.

When you think of students, do you picture overworked, stressed-out children bent under backpacks stuffed with textbooks and worksheets?

Even middle school kids are worried about high school performance and university entrance.

“Competition for marks is stronger than ever, so high school students are under tremendous pressure to not only pass but to excel. The reality is that many of them can’t,” adds Lynn, of parentingtoday.ca.