Education under pressure describes what many students of today are going through. The competition is tough. The expectations are high. The call to excel is strong. Through all this, the body and mind of students are starting to feel the burden and the exhaustion of studying.

philippine education

The Family Legacy

Educational pressures with regards to continuing a family legacy have been existing for a long time. Children that come from a long line of doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other professions are expected to continue the tradition. For the longest time, it continues to be an unspoken pressure for children who may have differing interests,  to follow the footsteps of their ancestors.

In spite of the much touted freedom of choice during these modern times, many parents hold on to their steel-clad professional ambitions for their children. Some have tried to strike a compromise by finishing two courses, one for the parents’ satisfaction and the other for the child’s. Obviously, this is not an option for everybody considering the expense and time element.

The Standards

Educational pressures with regards to maintaining specific standards in grades, awards and the school of choice have all been in the Filipino psyche for sometime. Children of parents who are graduates of prestigious schools are expected to follow suit. It will not be surprising for children of UP graduates for example to apply for the UP College Admission Test or UPCAT as early as the start of the senior year in high school in preparation for entering college.  Admission tests of the three other leading universities in the Philippines namely Ateneo, UST, and La Salle are also much awaited .

Having parents and older siblings who graduated with exemplary honors can be very stressful to students. It has much to do with expectations of people more than anything else. Graduating with honors can also form part of a family legacy which children may feel required to achieve.

The Competition

The level of competition in school today is such that children need to be always one step ahead of their classmates in terms of accomplishments. To be competitive nowadays in school, the student needs to have well-rounded development. This would mean excellence in academics and active participation in extra-curricular activities. Gone are the days when the top honors is given to the student with the highest grade only. Today, students have to have high grades and be able to manifest excellence in other areas as well.

Some secondary schools are now able to provide advanced learning in technology, offer courses in foreign language, and rigid training in sports. All of these give the students advantage over the other students who came from schools that are not able to offer the same advantages. College application has become almost like applying for the first job – highly competitive.

Education Under Pressure

The demands of society and the world has increasingly put extraordinary pressure on students. Pressure can be good or bad. It can motivate students to do better but it can also drive them to early surrender when they are  not helped along the way.

Educational pressure may come from family, school, community, and even society. It is evident however that the rigid requirements of employers today have much to do with the increasing pressure for more qualified graduates. This is also seen as a reaction to the current global outlook of the employment industry.

Financial pressure is also among the most real concerns of students with the high cost of education and living today. Even if parents are the ones primarily responsible for this, financial difficulties experienced by a family tend to affect the performance of students in school. The sense of urgency in being able to graduate to help the family cannot be denied.

My Say

When the K-12 system of education was introduced, I was one of those parents who felt burdened by the additional number of years. For children who have at least spent 3 years in pre-school plus the regular 6 years in elementary, 4 years in high school, and at least 4 years in college, the additional two years to me was not necessary. Quality over quantity I think best describes what I feel. I feel that the length of study adds to the pressure even more because it would seem that that it would take forever to finish studies. Still, I remain open to it and await the promised benefits of this system, if only for the sake of my children.

During my time, parents pretty much left alone children to study by themselves. In today’s parenting trends, parents need to be always present almost to the point of stage parenting. To do otherwise may be interpreted as lack of parental care and concern. Parents really want the best for their children so there is always the tendency to overdo this. I have yet to ask my children if this is adding to the pressure they must be feeling.

There is no mistaking that studying has to be taken seriously by students. Some pressure however has to be taken off from students without encouraging mediocrity.  There needs to be a happy balance between studying and enjoying life. True education after all extends beyond classroom walls.