Irvine is recognized as one of the cities with high-quality education for students. As a result of the high standard, many students in the city are faced with severe academic competition amongst their peers. Disregarding the pain and challenges the students face, the state of competition intensifies with the heavier pressure from parents for their children to attend a prestigious college. This toxic academic atmosphere is now spreading mental illnesses to teenagers and young adolescents in Irvine. 

Glimpse of Academic Enviornment in Irvine

Irvine Unified School District is known to encompass many highly academically achieving and performing schools. This essentially means numerous classes often offer an advanced curriculum, such as honors courses and advanced placement (AP) college courses. In fact, for freshmen, every IUSD high school has at least three pathways for math. It has one enhanced course, covering standard ninth-grade math with preparation for AP Calculus, which normally is meant to be learned in eleventh or twelfth grade. The next level is Math Two, which is also considered an accelerated path that is usually intended for tenth graders. Last, Math one, which teaches standard ninth-grade mathematics.

However, the atmosphere in Northwood suggests taking Math one as falling behind other students. Which should not be the case since it is a class meant for ninth graders. Furthermore, comparing one class with another based on test results is normalized. Teachers might argue that by comparing, it would motivate the students and allow them to be more eager, bringing more successful results. While this may be right, the research from the National Library of Medicine speaks otherwise. It states that the act of comparing can also be the primary factor in eroding self-esteem. Which, with low confidence, will most likely bring inadequate performance.

Results of Heavy Pressure

With overwhelming pressure, it would not only negatively impact academic performance but also harm students’ mental health.

The study from England found that at hospitals, study-related admissions were at their peak during term time and lowest during holidays. This data exposed how when students are under conditions with high academic pressure, their mental state often gets worse due to the burdening stress. These mental issues can easily slip into severe cases, like suicide.

High academic expectations can cause concentration difficulties and decrease motivation, driving to bad results. Mental issues often caused by extreme stress, like anxiety and depression, have the strongest influence on the gradebooks.

Solutions

Many of the parents are aware of this issue. Yet, human greed always puts on a blindfold. And now is a time to take off that blind fold and face the dark reality. 

There are various ways to solve this problem, but none of them are simple nor easy. However, if we keep ignoring this mess for the sake of our convenience, there will be more and more victims across all age ranges every year.

Here are the three most approachable solutions: 

1. Mandate every school to have a professional mental health counselor. And arrange a weekly meeting with the counselor as a part of the student’s schedule. 
2. Require every student to undergo a mental health check annually. Scale their mental health from ranges one to ten and make restrictions on educational involvement for a certain number scale (Implement a program in colleges and schools for students who had a gap year due to a mental health problem).
3. This last one involves the student themselves. To have faith in themselves. To know that your life is not gonna collapse or end if you don’t meet whoever’s expectation.

The third one might sound ridiculous, but as a student myself, I realized grade is just the tiniest aspect in our lives. There are far more mesmerizingly beautiful things beyond the gradebook. So if you just slightly release the grasp of the scores and begin looking around you more, maybe one day you will find your true passion, other than just As and Bs.