Are you aware that 40% of parents express that their high schooler faces a significant amount of  stress due to high school? More and more students are reporting that academic stress has been increasing throughout the years. Stress is a response to both physical and mental daily routines that can lead to feeling overwhelmed. One of the main culprits of stress is school. Based on a survey by the American Psychological Association, 45% of teens suffer from stress from school pressures. School causes students to become stressed and leads to a decline in their mental health. 

Starting a new school year throughout high school is always nerve-wracking and brings in new emotions. Sooner or later, students do homework and have to balance out their schoolwork and other activities. This is when students become stressed with all the work piled up and socializing. 

In a survey performed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, out of 540,000 students, 66% of them reported feeling stressed about poor grades. Students like Melissa Coronilla, a senior, expressed that the “pressure to keep up with the classes and social life” is a reason why she has become stressed out. Additionally, some students, like Jayden Nguyen,

a junior, mentioned, “I have a heavy workload because I’m taking multiple dual credit classes” when discussing  their school-related stress. These advanced classes can be tough on students as they are considered college courses and when taken many in one year, it can hurt one’s mental health. 

Students can experience stress not only from schoolwork, but also from the influence of their teachers. Education Week has reported that while researching stress, teachers’ quality of their instruction and the teacher’s stress can impact the students. When asking our senior Melissa

what she thinks about this statement, she says “ If you say the wrong thing, they can break and go off”, but not only Melissa feels this way. Jayden also reported that “the teacher’s mood is the whole classroom’s mood.” Both students recognize the importance of a teacher’s mood as it can really impact a student and set a certain tone in the environment in a class that is negatively impacting them. 

From the perspective of Jersey Villages faculty, Mrs. Ayodele, a money matters teacher,

agrees that teachers play a major role in the students’ mental health relating to stress. She states, “ You’re the one that they’re looking to, to stay calm.” She agrees that schoolwork can affect a student who has too much on their plate. An AP from Jersey village, Mr. Rose claims that “teachers do too much”, especially when getting onto students for simple tasks. This proves the idea that certain teachers can really leave a student feeling stressed. 

When asking students and faculty at Jersey Village High School about what teachers can do for students when experiencing stress, there were many different perspectives that pointed to the same objective. Diagnostician Mrs. Jefferson

allows students to feel free to talk to her and states, “we built trust”, in order to eliminate any stress factors that could be affecting a student due to the teacher’s stress as well. She confirms that “stress can impact their mental health.” and believes teachers must help their students. Mrs. Ayodelle says when she notices that her students “seem a little anxious”, She tries to ask them if they are okay and tries to really grasp onto what her students are feeling, so she can do her best to provide the reassurance students need. 

In the case of the students, Nevaeh Johnson

, a sophomore attending Jersey Village, told me that teachers “can give me respect” when she is feeling stressed out and wants to open up about her feelings. She also goes on to say when she’s angry she cries and curses which is why she feels like it’s hard to open up with her teachers. Students like Nevaeh want their voices to be heard when experiencing the overwhelming effects school has on students. 

Some students and staff faculty disagree slightly with this hot topic. Santiago Chavez

, a freshman, does not prioritize school at all. He only feels stressed when he has to socialize frequently with his peers. When asking him about his schoolwork and if it affected his mental health, he claimed, “If I don’t finish it, I don’t finish it.” Since he just started high school, reality has not hit him yet as he doesn’t prioritize school. Mr. Rose who is an AP, showed a different 

 perspective. He claims that, “struggling is what brings character.” He believes that stress is not a good or bad thing and it’s best that we experience it to help one become a better version of themselves. I agree but stress can lead to many mental health problems that can be hard to maintain and it’s not easy to figure out how to handle it.

In conclusion, it is important for students to have an open space to express their feelings of stress and  to create a plan that will help them manage their social life and school academics. School shouldn’t take over one’s life just to meet  expectations. So let’s all live more and stress less.