In its online Room for Debate series, The New York Times recently posted essays from educators, a psychologist, and a parent under the heading “Stress and High School.” Here’s a synopsis of some of the included essays—you can read the full texts here.
Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth and Punish by Rewards, suggests we revisit how we determine success, rethink our attitudes toward long-term goals for kids, and change school policies that allow overloading.
Kohn says that the pressure to add more and more to their schedules leaves students with no outlet to explore ideas. Rather, they suffer intellectually and psychologically. He says that the frenetic pace continues into college. His argument is similar to another familiar one—that kids should not participate year-round in only one sport. This can lead to injuries much earlier, as well as burnout.
Kohn acknowledges that “most parents push their kids with best of intentions,” but others are living vicariously through their children’s accomplishments. “Gambling their mental health and love of learning in the hopes of acceptance to a highly selective college is a bet that that no caring, rational parent should take,” says Kohn.
Kohn notes gratuitous competition, absurd quantities of homework that “force students to work a second shift,” and growing numbers of AP courses are the culprits.
Denise Pope weighs in with changing the pace of the school day. Pope, a senior lecturer at the Stanford University School of Education and cofounder of Challenge Success, a research and student intervention program, calls out the blame game. She says schools blame parents to pushing students and parents blame the schools. But no one includes the kids in the conversation. Pope’s research focuses listening to the children and developing a healthier pace.
Pope says her program’s research shows that students “who believe their teachers listen to them, want to get to know them, and are willing to help with homework, are more engaged with learning, are less likely to cheat, and show fewer signs of stress and health problems.”
She says overstressed students are not engaged, focus on regurgitating facts, and consider getting grades in way possible as paramount. One solution is actually the one of the hallmarks of a private-independent school—adding advisory into the daily mix. She recommends a familiar advisory program of a faculty advisory meeting with students to discuss personal issues, work on organization skills and promote coping strategies.
Pope urges that teachers give students more of a choice of learning opportunities and voice in the classroom—and recommends minimizing tests in favor of assessments like projects, performances, and writing tasks.
Some schools, she says, have added more free time and a later start times to slow things down. Pope highlights other changes that are in line with ISM research—move exams before vacation breaks, eliminate mid terms, and ditch the summer assignments to give students real off duty time.
Clara Hemphill, author of New York City’s Best Public Elementary Schools and founding editor of insideschools.org, asks “What happened to childhood?” She sees the problem tied to economic conditions. Parents are pushing kids to achieve more and more as the answer to the shrinking of the middle class.
All parents see is the very rich getting richer, she says, while everyone else is stuck. “These conditions may fuel parents’ fears that any child who doesn’t attend an elite high school and a super elite university will end up flipping burgers.”
Like the other contributors, Hemphill urges parents and schools to dial back in order to restore childhood, like cap the number of AP classes, limit after-school activities, and focus on the character counts message. Much of Hemphill’s thinking is in sync with delivering mission to students. Your school’s unique mission is likely broader than just getting the best grades, overloading, and getting into only super elite colleges. Rather, for many schools, the mission centers on the whole student, character, and learning for life.
