Social Forces Affecting Education -Pressures on Children

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Social forces play a major role in the achievement that takes place in our nation’s schools. Factors that take place outside of the classroom have significant effects that intrude on a child’s learning environment. These social forces hold no prejudice to the youth for whom they afflict and arise in every school setting across the public school system. It is important that one recognizes the impact that social forces have on the future leaders of our country and what conflicts they create for our present day learners. Because we live in a competitive society and want to be able to compete in the global economy, achievement pressure runs rampant in classrooms across the country (Anxiety.org, 2011). When parents and teachers can become aware of the emotional burdens and adverse effects that high achievement pressures carry, they will no doubt second guess their choice to perpetuate them (Weissbourd, 2011). The first step in solving any problem is to first be able to acknowledge it.

Pressures on children in today’s society are a problem that is becoming more evident in academics as parents and teachers put more and more emphasis on these children to outperform their classmates, stress in the child’s life becomes an interfering problem (Anxiety.org, 2011 Weissbourd, 2011,). From preschool children to college adults, pressure to execute academic perfection extends across all areas of curriculum. In our highly competitive, American society, emphasis placed on academic achievement has never been so intense (Anxiety.org, 2011, Beilock, 2011). This need to be the best, fueled by our culture in America, has created a social force affecting education, a force to be reckoned with at that. Too often, parents and teachers sacrifice their chil...

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... medical foundation. Retrieved from http://www.pamf.org/teen/byteens/academic-stress.html

Kaur, S. (2011). pamf.org. Retrieved from http://www.pamf.org/teen/life/stress/academicpressure.html

Anxiety.org. (2011, 5 16). Retrieved from http://www.anxiety.org/anxiety-news/general/childhood-anxiety-from-academic-pressure-are-we-pushin

Herrfeldt, B. (n.d.). ehow.com. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_2314755_cope-academic-pressure-.html

Weissbourd, R. (2011, May). The Overpressured Student. Educational Leadership, Vol. 68, No. 8, 23-27.

Kadison, R. & DiGeronimo, T.F. (2004). College of the Overwhelmed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

American Psychological Association (APA) (2012, March 12). Reducing academic pressure may help children succeed. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120312101439.htm

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