A teenager's never-ending pressure to be the apple of their parent's ...

In 2008, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, a non-profit
education group, surveyed 1,006 13 to 19-year-olds in its 10 th annual State of Our Nation’s Youth
report. The study found that throughout all demographics 80 percent of high school students feel
pressure to get good grades and 38 percent of those said that it is the biggest stress in their life.
The study also found that “three-quarters of teenagers say that their parents would be more proud
of them for receiving straight A’s on their report cards than for receiving a community service
award” (Horatio Alger, 2008). Ironically, as parental pressure has increased since the 2005
report, students have still stayed at a B average. Again, the question presents itself: when is
pressure too much?
Pressure can come in different ways from parents: verbally expressing their desire for
good grades, yelling or punishing, or silent pressure in the form of disappointment. The
Children’s Press Line reported on three teenagers experiencing pressure. 17-year-old Shauna
Staranko remarked on how pressure differed from her parents. “My mom's pressure is more for
that marking period, for that day, for that week. My dad's more for a common goal in the future
for college.” Her mother also used bribing for good grades, but eventually the bribing went
away. However, Staranko admits she often worked only to receive the bribes (Staranko, et. al).
Of the three children highlighted in the Horatio Alger study, all three children expressed
how they already pressure themselves to do well, and they have parental pressure on top of that.
When grades can be monitored hour-by-hour online with programs such as PowerSchool, it often
leads children to be punished for poor grades before they even have time to come home and
explain to their parents their sub par grade. Certainly it is important for parents to be aware of
their child’s progress, but this intense monitoring can turn children away from a true love of
learning (Levine, 2006, Pg. 28).
The effect of the all powerful dollar – or lack there of
Levine takes an inside look at the lives of U.S. teenagers and how wealth and parental
pressures have played a large role in their discontent. Straight A’s and sports scholarships cover
up the depression, stress, and anger many of these teenagers are feeling. This is what Levine
describes as the “paradox of privilege” (Levine, 2006).
What startles Levine the most is that the children are assumed to be happy due to their
financial status and successful parents. Comfortable lifestyles, lavish homes, and private school