User talk:BenjiFrank/sandbox

The Cultural and Social Effects of Standardized Education How does standardized education negatively affect the mental health of high school students in the United States? Every aspect of culture ordinarily changes, as well as the way school has been taught. Consequently, the current system has resulted in cultural and social defects such as the increase of mental illness in high schoolers.

Shakuntala Devi said, “Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree. It’s about widening your knowledge and absorbing the truth about life. (“Shakuntala Devi – The Amazing Indian Human Computer”)” Shakuntala Devi is a well-known mathematical genius and prodigy; she holds many titles in the Guinness Book of World Records for calculating answers faster than computers (“Shakuntala Devi Biography”). Due to Devi’s knowledge in mathematics and education, she knows that going to school is not all about going to an elite college. Contrary to her belief, the system encourages students to pursue higher grades and to work as hard as it is needed to achieve what the standards of “academic excellence” are. Accordingly, these ideals are what is causing the problem. The school system approaches education with the belief that standardization will be beneficial. Conversely, the way our culture has been affected proves otherwise.

Thrive Global, an organization striving to assist people in improving their mental well-being, researched the school calendar’s effects on teen suicide rates. The results were disturbing but sadly accurate. “June, July and August saw a decrease in suicide rates of 1.38 per 100,000 people for 14 to 17 year olds. That’s a big difference—enough to make a state drop ten or so spots on national suicide rankings,” reported Drake Baer. When school is out for the summer, the suicide rates drop by 23 percent, but the numbers drastically increase when school begins again (Baer). This phenomenon occurs because students dread going back to school. Adolescents are easily possessed by their GPAs and doing whatever it takes to improve it. Inevitably, when they do not meet their unrealistic expectations, they get easily depressed and disappointed. “A system like that is discouraging. It fosters a direct emphasis on tests and points rather than learning and curiosity. (Colin McLaughlin)” Peter Gray, a professor at Boston College, did a study on how standardizing and micromanaging education is not good for anyone. He goes on to say that similar to adults, children do not work well in extremely stressful situations. They are still developing and learning how to cope with everything around them. School only provides an example of how it feels to be employed at a “nightmare… job that kids are not allowed to quit. (Gray)”

When kids are exposed to never-ending work, depression and anxiety are much more easily established, especially because kids often succumb to pressure. Originally, the main goal in educating children was for them to focus on improving themselves mentally and emotionally for the real world. Instead of numbers representing the child, their improvements and full range of abilities would be representative. Students with already existing conditions, such as ADD/ADHD and Autism already battle with comprehension and focus. They struggle to pay attention to details, and they often make careless mistakes in their schoolwork. This is specifically challenging for students with ADHD. (“Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children”). When the workload intensifies, those individuals are unable to keep up with the rest of their class. Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have similar difficulties. In addition to having trouble focusing and grasping the curriculum, affected pupils experience trouble empathizing with others. Standardization causes this to be a problem because students with ASD cannot be conformed to the majority due to their struggles with relationships (“Autism Spectrum Disorder”). Although Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 diagnoses might be presented as solutions, they do not change the approach of teaching and it’s content (“Accommodations and Supports”).

“Every day we see media telling us not to place value on a number whether it be age, weight, or income, yet we label our kids with a score and how many points they can give us, or a teacher’s worth based on how much she can do for a school score. (Alice Trosclair)” The psychological effects are becoming increasingly apparent to society. Due to school putting so much emphasis on standardized tests and standardized work, students are now experiencing physical symptoms. A Harvard graduate, Christina Simpson, also did research to explore the consequences standardized testing has on mental health. Moreover, students have been reports of stomach aches, urinary incontinence, vomiting, headaches, depression, anxiety, sleeping problems, etc. due to end-of-course tests (“Effects of Standardized Testing on Students’ Well-Being”). Adults and parents handle their symptoms differently of anxiety compared to adolescents. While adults may be more vocal about their stress, teenagers might just complain about the physical symptoms (Sigal Sharf). “Unfortunately, social stigma around mental illness still exists among people of all ages. As a result, high school and college students often hesitate to seek help for depression. In 2016, approximately 60 percent of teens who suffered a major depressive episode did not receive treatment of any kind. (Monroe)” Suppressing one’s emotions is never good, and a strikingly large number of teenagers are doing it.

Overall, it may be said that the standardization of education has and will continue to affect adolescents mental health. It will affect them mentally, as well as cause physical harm to their bodies. If the school system stays this way and we sit idly without taking the initiative to change it, the number of students suffering will only accumulate. Standardization is giving the opposite of vitality to the world; teenagers are becoming progressively sad and anxious, and it is detrimental to the community’s health.

BenjiFrank (talk) 18:30, 23 April 2019 (UTC)

Works Cited

“Accommodations and Supports for School-Age Students with ASD.” Center for Autism Research, www.carautismroadmap.org/accommodations-and-supports-for-school-age-stu dents-with-asd/.

“Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 16 Aug. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions /adhd/symptoms-causes/syc-20350889.

“Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 6 Jan. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/autism-spectrum-disorder/ symptoms-causes/syc-20352928.

Baer, Drake. “Why Teen Suicides Go Up When the School Year Begins.” Thrive Global, Thrive Global, 14 Sept. 2017, thriveglobal.com/stories/teen-suicides-school-year/.

“Shakuntala Devi – The Amazing Indian Human Computer | BeAnInspirer.” Be An Inspirer, Be      An Inspirer, 4 Nov. 2018, www.beaninspirer.com/shakuntala-devi-amazing-indian-human-computer/.

Gray, Peter. “The Danger of Back to School.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 7 Aug. 2009, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201408/the-danger-back-school.

McLaughlin, Colin. “Why Do Students Dread Coming to School?” The MoCo Student, 9 Sept. 2015, mocostudent.org/2015/09/why-do-students-dread-coming-to-school/.

Monroe, Jamison. “Adolescent Depression in Schools.” Newport Academy, Newport Academy, 31 July 2018, www.newportacademy.com/resources/mental-health/adolescent-depression-in-schools/.

“Shakuntala Devi Biography.” My India, My India, 7 Apr. 2018, www.mapsofindia.com/who-is-who/miscellaneous/shakuntala-devi.html.

Sharf, Sigal. “Childhood Anxiety From Pressure At School.” Anxiety.org, 26 Aug. 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20160101202837/https://www.anxiety.org/ childhood-anxiety-from-academic-pressure-are-we-pushin

Simpson, Christina. “Effects of Standardized Testing on Students' Well-Being.” Projects.iq.harvard.edu, Harvard Graduate School of Education, May 2016, projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/eap/files/c._simpson_effects_of_testing_on_well_being_5_16.pdf.

Trosclair, Alice. “One Standardized Test, Many Different Stories.” The Educators Room, 1 Nov. 2016, theeducatorsroom.com/one-standardized-test-many-different-student-stories/.