Stress begins in the cradle.
Recent reports show that the pursuit and competition for life began from an early age, and this phenomenon has an increasingly exaggerated trend. Examples of immersing babies in classical music to improve their spiritual strength have been heard from time to time. Children are flooded with computers and educational toys, and experts keep instilling in their parents that if their children don't follow certain strategies before they are three or four years old, they will start to fall behind and have no hope.
Parents hire consultants with high salaries to help their children prepare for important interviews in the future. Counselors observe children's play time, because the way of play will have a decisive impact on whether children can enter the so-called "correct" kindergarten, kindergarten or key school in the future; Only in this way can you get more protection if you want to enter the "right" high school, university and research institute in the future.
These consultants will teach children how to maintain eye contact, how to show leadership skills and share traits in interviews. According to statistics, the competition for admission to some kindergartens or grammar schools is beyond imagination, and the admission rate is even lower than that of Harvard University.
Once you enter the right school, study and practice are all-weather. For most parents, they are worried that their children will be left behind by other students with better grades. Sports, music, dancing and other recreational activities used to be popular leisure ways and relaxation time, but this is no longer the case, because children must start training at an early age if they want to win university scholarships or professional contracts in the future. Expert lectures, summer camps, weekly exercises and game schedules consume most of children's time, and summer vacation has become a thing of the past. The tense rhythm every day and every year makes children have little time to be pure children.
The fast lane of middle school
In middle school, children are under greater pressure. Students begin to concentrate on one activity or even give up the pursuit of other projects. They define themselves by their chosen fields, such as athletes, dancers and musicians. Their goal is to make their talents more perfect.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a report that premature specialization in a certain sport may lead to physical and psychological harm. Don't forget that behind every success story in tiger woods, there are countless sad results. Some students spend as much time on professional subjects as they do at school. They play or practice almost every day, because there are away games on weekends and national or international schedules in summer and holidays. These athletes, musicians or dancers who focus on a certain major will even leave home to study, because the major is the strength of a school, even if the academic resources of the school are weak.
However, the academic requirements faced by students are still relatively strict. From the middle school stage, students must be trained by tutors and prepare for the SAT. In high school, SAT has become the focus of many students' lives, and they don't rest at night and weekends.
Pursuing the "right" university application consultant is not a new industry. They suggest that students organize various academic and extracurricular activities from middle school in order to enter a good university in the future. At best, these suggestions may help students evaluate their talents and goals and make some route corrections that may change their future career. However, from a skeptical point of view, this kind of suggestion only manipulates students to engage in overseas travel, community service or other activities in order to increase the content of papers and the ability to interview in the college entrance examination.
After entering the so-called "right" university, the "right" graduate school and the "right" work will become the next goal. Many people believe that these achievements will make them more likely to live in the "right" community in the future to raise their next generation-an era that may have to jump over higher obstacles.
Is there any way to relieve stress?
How can we remedy these problems? Basically, this is a time to take a step back and think. When people get rid of long-term pressure and expectations, they have the opportunity to think about various personal values, goals and viewpoints and gain the experience they need in life.
Here are some suggestions for high school students:
No matter during holidays, weekends or daily meals, family members should take the way of "breathing", no matter how they do it. Due to the increasing pressure of parents' work, the tension of family life has been rising. Today's parents have also caught up with the first wave of "fast track" childhood, and they are often troubled by too little time for their children.
Get summer back. Summer does not need to be completely consumed by intensive activities such as summer schools, travel plans or sports camps. These activities are already wonderful. If you can follow your own pace, it will make people happier and more beneficial. Summer job may provide students with different backgrounds, different ages and different experiences, but whether it can provide a psychological pause and open a window for future possibilities remains to be discussed. In fact, before facing the new school year, students need more free time to reflect, create and gather strength.
When choosing a high school or university, we should not only look at their "famous brand" or fame, but also consider whether it is the most suitable.
Taking a year off before entering the university, or delaying entering the university for one year, is the most directly recommended form of "breathing". For 30 years, Harvard University has continuously advised students to consider this choice, and we have clearly put forward this suggestion in the admission notice. In addition, when all the courses are full, we also offer the opportunity to enter Harvard next year. Therefore, under normal circumstances, about 50 to 70 students of Harvard University are postponed to the next academic year.
The proposal to suspend admission has brought very positive results. Harvard students wrote in the student newspaper Crimson, "The valuable experience makes those who delay admission want to suggest that all Harvard students should consider this option." In fact, about 20% of Harvard students will "catch their breath" at some time before graduation. The overall graduation rate of Harvard is as high as 97%, which is the highest in the United States, which may be partly due to the fact that students have taken a break during their studies.
The student newspaper of Harvard also mentioned that a student visited a skating company in South America during the one-year gap before entering Harvard, and then went to Russia. Another student interviewed said that he first worked in a fast-growing e-commerce company and then traveled in Europe with a backpack for six months.
The choices of "breathing period" include: opera, figure skating, medical treatment, historical mineral deposits, medical treatment, farm life, language research, mineralogy research, missionary work, music, non-profit organizations, orphanages, presidential elections, rebuilding schools, volunteers with special needs, sports, drumming, storytelling, student politics and swing.
Location: Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Scandinavia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, etc.
Many students divide this year into several stages, such as work, travel or research. Of course, not everyone has the ability to travel, so some people join the army and participate in domestic service activities, while others stay at home. They work, study, read books that they never have time to finish, and even start writing a "great American novel". Others use this time to establish close contact with their families because of the busy pace of high school life.
Students' reaction to the gap year, Harvard students choose to postpone their enrollment for one year, just as British students also have the so-called "gap year", while some countries have military service systems with different years. No matter why the students dropped out of school and what they did during this period, the students who had experienced it spoke highly of this period.
Some people say that this year is a turning point in life, while more people think that the value of this year is immeasurable and many benefits will continue to appear in the future. After coming to the university, many students have a brand-new view on their academic planning, after-school interests, intangible value they want to gain through the university, and the possibility of their future careers, all because of the gap this year. They firmly believe that if they are given another chance, they will still do so.
However, a one-year suspension on the way to study may worry many students and parents. Students often want to follow their friends and take a safer and more familiar road; Parents are worried that their son or daughter will cheat and may never enter the campus again. Both of them are worried that students may fall behind or lose their learning skills this year. However, high school consultants, university administrators and others who help students delay their enrollment all promise that the benefits will outweigh the risks.
Success needs to be redefined. The focus of this paper is how to alleviate the pressure of today's times. At the same time, we should also notice that most students cope with the pressure well. But they also constantly remind us that the new world economy and fierce competition will bring higher standards to everyone. Recent graduates also suggest that today's high school students and college students should be prepared academically as well as emotionally. It is worth noting that a person's extraordinary achievement does not come from comparing with others, but something that matches his own unique rhythm and cannot be measured by any standard.
When children are under great pressure and their lives are constantly filled with strict training, this may delay children from finding themselves and achieving a successful life in their own way. We all have the right to admire the achievements of Jordan or Yo-Yo Ma, and at the same time, we should achieve ourselves in a more appropriate way in our own fields and ways, such as discovering the bones of primitive humans and changing people's concept of paleontology. ...
In addition, we find that both parents and students can benefit from redefining the goal of success. If you continue to pursue other people's goals, Borno will be the inevitable result.
The above is an introduction to the academic pressure faced by international students. Welcome to refer to.