Coming from a continental European perspective where unis will let you succeed or fail on your own without the least bit of pressure but with hearty indifference, I was quite surprised even in the nineties coming to a high pressure place (in the UK) and witnessing (and experiencing) the effects on mental health in the students around me and myself. I knew a number of kids on junior year abroad from a very high pressure LAC in the US and was rather shocked at the workload over and above even what kids had in the UK, including paid work and horrible budget pressures, and the amount of sleep deprivation that was considered normal.
I get these obsessive interests and on of these during the last few years has been the compound effects of chronic stress, lack of outdoor time, bad nutrition and chronic sleep deprivation. And recently, I have become interested in higher education in the US.
The workload and pressure teenagers are being placed under even in high school, and the sleep deprivation that is expected as a matter of course, are staggering, and colleges appear even worse in that respect - and everyone seems to be PROUD of it, as a mark of rigour. Look how we're killing ourselves to get ahead.
Kids are set up for major health problems with this disruption of circadian rhythm and chronic cortisol overload, mental health immediately and cardiovascular and metabolic health later.
I read in a college guide how a student proudly declares a professor told the, to phone them up even at two in the morning if they had a problem. This is ridiculous.
Last edited by Tigerle; 05/10/15 06:45 AM.
