by Carol H. Morgan

Created on: July 16, 2010   Last Updated: July 17, 2010

The stresses and anxiety that students often have about high school can come from a variety of sources, including parents, advisers, teachers, friends, or even their own expectations. They can be made to feel that if they don't perform well academically that their lives will be a total failure.   Socially, many high-school students feel that they might not find friends or a peer group that they are happy with. Students can be made to feel that their whole future hangs in the balance of what happens during those four years.  Often that stress and pressure can be made easier, or in some cases worse, by what a student does in preparation or in response to what they are told or choose to believe about what might happen to them as high school students. 

"WHEN YOU GET TO HIGH SCHOOL..."

Understanding the pressures that high school students are under often comes through seeing exactly where and who that pressure comes from. It is very common to see that there is anxiety and anticipation built up over the many years of schooling that come before grade fourteen.  Parents. teachers and guidance counsellors are forever using phrases similar to "when you get to high school" to tell students that no matter their current worries and responsibilities, high school will swamp them all. 

Often this type of advice is well meant, but it is important for those who would offer it to understand that the results are not always good.  Students are exposed to many such frightening warnings, and sometimes the results are unfortunate.  Often it is clear that students are dropping by the wayside rather than stepping up to this mounting expectation, and they often respond to this pressure by behaving in ways that aren't good for them.  They may end up escaping the stress by engaging in social relationships that are damaging, experimenting with substance abuse, or evading it altogether by dropping out of school.  Therefore well-meant warnings should focus on the positive and not attempt to scare students straight by telling them how stressful and important their performance in high school will be.

TRUTH TO THE WARNINGS

It is somewhat true that the time a student spends in high school and their performance there will make a difference in their lives.  The grades and preparation they get in high school will impact their decision to go to a university, the financial aid they might receive, and their choice of a vocation. 

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