Academic and Extracurricular Pressure - Information

Facts / Resources

Tips for preventing extracurricular overload: Being too busy can result in depression, low self-esteem, sleep problems, poor grades, and physical illness.

Articles

Raising the Bar: How Parents Can Fix Education
(WSJ, Aug. 29, 2008)
In a survey of the research, Michigan's Department of Education summarizes the findings neatly: "The most consistent predictors of children's academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child's academic attainment and satisfaction with their child's education at school. Parents of high-achieving students set higher standards for their children's educational activities." One great thing about this statement is that income should not matter, since almost any family can insist that conscientious schoolwork be Job One. The stereotype, of course, is of frantic upper-middle-class parents bombarding their precious little ones in utero with Mozart and then hectoring teachers and hiring tutors right up until the Harvard application essay. <Read More>

Know! stress is a major contributing factor in teen drug abuse (KNOW Newsletter, Sept. 2008) Youth deal with stress differently. Some find healthy constructive outlets to release built up stress while others make decisions that ultimately prove destructive. Recent survey results indicate the number one reason teens say they would use drugs is to deal with the pressures and stress of school. While 73% of youth cited stress as a major contributing factor, only 7% of parents believed teens might use drugs to relieve stress (Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2007). <Read More>

Academic Success: Get the Facts (Parents: The Anti-Drug Newsletter, Aug. 28, 2008) A teen's performance in high school has long-term implications-grade point averages and test scores can dictate where they go to college, and their success in high school is often an indicator of how they will perform later on campus and in the job market. So don't let drug use hold them back. What can you do to ensure your children reach their maximum potential? <Read More>

Coping with Back-to-School Anxiety for High-Schoolers: Am I good enough to make the team this year? Am I smart enough to take AP Biology? Those seniors seem so much older than me! Each year of high school brings new concerns for your teen. Follow our suggestions on how to help ease those worries. <Read More from FamilyEducation>

Study Finds School Pressure Contributes to Teen Drug Use (CADCA Newsletter, August 2008)
According to the 2007 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study of 6,511 teens (PATS Teens), released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the number one reason teens see for using drugs is to deal with the pressures and stress of school.

Extracurricular Overload: (Vibrant Life, July-August 2005)
While some kids thrive in a go, go, go world, others suffer the effects of overscheduling. They stop enjoying themselves. This can bring about serious stress disorders.

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