In the past, we all have heard several depressing news about student's violence. For example, students commit a crime by killing their classmates or commit suicide. These problems may be originated from suppressing of anxiety and depression in the mind of the students continuously. There are many reasons causing of anxiety and depression such as stress from learning, friend relationship and pressure from the family. In this news, talks about student's mental health in university life.
According to "Students' mental health 'at risk', psychiatrists warn" in BBC News, today, the student has a greater risk of anxiety and depression than the student in the past. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says there are now many more students from less privileged backgrounds who are less prepared for university life. They are faced with rising debt and uncertain job prospects. Dr. John Callender said "Many are having to work long hours in paid work on top of full-time academic studies. Many are less well-supported by their families than was the case in years gone by". In addition, he adds that the reasons for this are results of increased rate of marital breakdown.
I agree with the statement that the current generation of students has a greater risk of anxiety and depression than previous ones. Today, children have to study a lot in tutorial schools at the low age instead of playing in the way of children in order to enter a good school. Parents who play an important role to discipline children should realize that only learning may make children lack of social skills and increase children's stress unnecessarily. Moreover, some families also use physical punishment to children. This makes the children have low self-esteem and have aggressive behaviors in the future.
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References
I agree with you that children have to study a lot in tutorial schools at the low age. I know that every parent want the best things for their children. However, they should think the feelings of the children that they are happy to do that or they need more time to relax from studying.
ReplyDeleteAnd is there even any good evidence that all that extra cramming after school actually helps?
ReplyDeleteGolf, Preaw, and Peter,
ReplyDeleteWhen you think of extra cramming study, which country comes up first to you? The answer is _____. I have a 16 years old niece, 1st grade in high school. She studies until 5 p.m., which is a regular course, and then after having dinner, she studies until 9:30 p.m. which is a self class in the classroom with her classmates altogether, and then goes to a private institution for another complimentary classes, such as math, English.
Almost 12 p.m., she comes back home. Can you believe this? Not all Korean high schoolers are same, but over 70% of them are studying like this. You can probably assume that what and how those students will do after entering universities. They do a lot of things, drinking, making friends and getting along with them, dating, joining many clubs, earning allowance through part time jobs,and so on, except studying.
Of course, there are many students who really study hard, and as Golf said, some students get a lot of stress from studying and uncertain future. However, there is a good loan system for university students.
They can borrow money for the tuition, and after graduating, when they get a job, they can pay back the money.
Sunny,
ReplyDeleteWow.
I don't know her or how she feels about that, but my first reaction is to feel pretty sorry for your niece - she doesn't seem to have much of a life. If she enjoys what she's studying, that would make a big difference. I hope she does.
My school days were so relaxed by comparison. I had no classes after school, and was very slack about doing homework (I'm not saying this is something my students should copy). But I did actually work very hard, although because it was things that I loved (science, maths, and reading everything), it never seemed like work to me, and no one ever forced me to do it.
Not only the students affected by this tensional life, but also everyone.
ReplyDeleteI want to say "don't get freaked out, like just flow with your life, It'll all work out".
I wrote this yesterday, but since it contradicts some common ideas, decided to wait a bit before posting it.
ReplyDeleteFirst, a the question I did post yesterday: is there even any good evidence that all that extra cramming after school actually helps?
Are there, for example, any reliable statistics which allow us to infer that there is a causal correlation between vast amounts of after school tutorial schooling and admission to a decent university?
Some solid evidence suggests that there is little or no such causal connection, so all that effort might be rich in disadvantages and rather poor on advantages. If the school is not teaching the children adequately, perhaps a better solution is to move them to a better school, and cut the after hours excess? Although even the school might not matter that much. There is certainly a correlation between the school attended and university admission and performance, but it's uncertain that that correlation is causal.
I remember when I was in high school that a lot of other students put far more effort into homework and extra study arranged or supervised by their parents than I did. But they didn't get the highest grades - except a couple, who I suspect would have got about the same excellent grades with much less time spent on something they did not enjoy.
Of course, my personal experience is not solid evidence - it's only a particular case. However, it is consistent with studies such as that done by economist Steven Levitt in his careful analysis of the vast amount of data from the US Dept. of Education's Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), which tracked the academic performance of thousands of school children across the US in the late 1990s.
That data consistently shows that extra things like special educational programs, visits to museums, parents reading to the child and such like do not significantly enhance academic performance during school, although they are probably very beneficial in other ways, especially activities that parents and children share: the reading and museum visits are likely very good for the parent-child relationship, and that is likely to positively contribute to a happy and successful life (2006, p. 145 - 176). If the goal is only better academic performance, there is some evidence which seems to suggest that a lot of children might be being pushed into something of dubious value.
So, what is a parent to do?
Oops, I forgot the reference for the work I cited!
ReplyDeleteReferences
Levitt, S. & Dubner, S. (2006). Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. London: Penguin Books.
And if you would like some excellent listening practice, this inspiring talk given by the recently deceased Steve Jobs at Stanford University graduation ceremony is well worth listening to - Jobs says some very good things about what makes a university education valuable, and not valuable. Like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs dropped out of university before going to found Apple and other stunning successes.
ReplyDeleteSee Steve Jobs: How to live before you die at http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html
"Many students prefer to study at tutor center"
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because that the educational system in the school nowadays hasn't enriched adequately to current students at all comparing with when I was young. In the case of Thai, time of studying in the school is much less than that in the past (approximately 5 hours a week) and school teachers would like to support the students do more activities as well. In addition, there are many excellent tactics for the students to learn quickly in tutor center. It might have a strong influence on the students. And I think that not only do their parents force them to extra study, but also the students themselves might realize
that what they learn from classes in the school is not enough. It is also the new
era of study at the tutor center.
One of the greatest gifts parents can give their children is the confident that their parents love each other. We need to know what love language of our children so we can communicate our love to them. When they know we love them without condition, they will not be afraid to be fail.
ReplyDeleteMur,
ReplyDeleteI agree.
Having the confidence to take risks and sometimes to actually fail is a great gift. I've been wrong lots of times, and I'm sure I will be wrong again.
I'm currently reviewing and revising some of my ideas about the links between crime and abortion. New evidence and arguments suggest that some of my beliefs have been wrong. One reason I like science and reason is that they assume that beliefs might be proved wrong by later evidence and reason - if Einstein was not perfect, why should I think I am? Mathematicians have an advantage, and are rarely proved wrong when they publish in journals, whereas the research results in medical science are often not substantiated by later research, are in fact often disproved. And when a good idea is shown to be wrong, progress has been made.
Academic work is all about making our beliefs better, with changing them to more strongly supported versions. That's why academics argue so much - it's the natural situation for people who care about what is true and what it is reasonable to believe.