Pressures on Utah Teens: High Achieving Students

The pressures of getting A’s, captaining the football team, and starring in the school musical can weigh heavily on teenagers who are motivated to succeed. At Utah County Science Academy in Orem, students shared their experiences of intense academic pressure.

In a recent discussion with UCAS third and fourth year students, Fox 13 News posed a question: “How many of you would consider yourself very nervous, very tense?” Only a few hands were raised. When asked how many were relaxed, more students raised their hands, highlighting the different levels of stress among students.

UCAS, ranked the best high school in Utah by Niche, a rating and review website, is no stranger to academic stress. Junior Rubén Uribe spoke about the challenging curriculum. “A lot of the courses here at UCAS are actually very rigorous. A lot of the classes I have in particular involve doing a lot of things rather than just: ‘Here’s a lecture, here’s a lesson. Now learn.’ ‘In fact, you can apply it in class. And I think just that application, learning and doing can be a big challenge,” Uribe said.

EG Turner, also a junior, said, “I came in saying, ‘I’m willing, God, to go to this school, I can do this.’ But as far as junior year goes, this year, I feel like I’m almost exhausted.” at a certain point.”

Political science professor Jeff Ferlo emphasized the importance of project-based learning. “My class is very project-based. I teach political science, so one of the things we did this year was give them a project so they had to go out into the community and find something to do. My job is to help them be where they are.” “They want to be in life and make a difference in this world, wherever they are,” he said.

Child and family psychologist Dr. Doug Goldsmith noted the pressure high achievers face. “The high-achieving students feel overwhelmed and feel like I have to work very hard, and some of them can concentrate more on school and some activities. The average-achieving students are trying to maintain balance. “I have piano and I have “I have church and I have all these other activities, and I’m taking advantage of them and I want to have screen time before I go to bed.” Screen time and phones have created chaos,” Goldsmith said.

Goldsmith also mentioned that younger students, such as seventh and eighth graders, are feeling the pressure. He said, “I hear from seventh and eighth graders who are panicking. ‘I just failed my math test today and I’m not going to be able to go to college,’ and it takes a lot of therapeutic work to do that.” Help them understand that seventh and eighth grade are practice and preparation for ninth grade, and that will count.”

To help reduce stress, Goldsmith suggested scheduling between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. “As they start putting the schedule together, two things happen,” he said. “One is that they realize that this is not going to work, that I have to be in bed at nine o’clock and that I am not going to finish everything. Or they realize that I finish this and I will actually have time to my screens and my friends after dinner, there will be free time and they can start to organize themselves better. That is a part that parents should help with.

The students shared their future aspirations and dreams. Senior Kai Heftel humorously listed his career goals: “I want to be Mr. Ferlo, a biomedical engineer, and achieve world domination,” drawing laughter from his classmates. Senior Chanel Thomas expressed interest in becoming a professor or corporate attorney. Junior EG Turner hopes to become a marine biologist, while junior Porter McCuistion is considering a career in mechanical engineering. Senior Charlie Midy also aspires to become a mechanical engineer, and junior Asher Richardson candidly stated, “I want to go into business management, yeah. I just want to make a lot of money, basically,” provoking laughter again. Junior David Wood admitted, “I have no idea. But I still have time, so I’m still looking into things.”

Goldsmith suggested that students could benefit from a gap year to explore different careers and volunteer opportunities. “Children may need a gap year to be able to explore and see what they want to do, explore different jobs and different opportunities and learn how to volunteer. That’s how we can guide them to become successful adults,” she said.

For parents who suspect their teens are under too much pressure, Goldsmith recommended watching for signs such as irritability, nervousness, sleep disturbances or withdrawal from activities. If these symptoms are present, it may be necessary to seek professional help to ensure your child’s well-being.