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Caleb Moody

Ms. Emily Kretzer

English 1201

18 January 2019

Research Proposal

Throughout the entirety of my academic career, the pressure to succeed has always been

heavy coming from my parents, to the point where I would make mistakes in order to spite them.

Though my response never helped in the moment, I was able to convey to my family that in

order to succeed I may need a push but do not need them to ride me about grades 24/7. As I was

looking for a topic to discuss and further research, I noticed the issue of “pressures students

face,” and it just made me remember all the times that I had gotten into it with my parents about

school, and also how much pressure I had been given by school staff, especially in more recent

years as college looms in front of me. Though students in our modern education system might

require a little bit of motivation to begin to perform their very best, whether in the classroom or

on the field, constant fear of what might happen if they fail can actually hinder them from

reaching their full potential. I have always wondered why that is, as I have seen it in my own life,

in my siblings’ lives, and in almost all of my close friends’ lives. It may seem like kids are

becoming more increasingly lazy, but the pressures from many outside factors make it hard to

concentrate and even more harder to balance all the different things they have on their plates. I

thought it would be interesting to see how this can hinder students, and more importantly how

this has contributed to the anxiety that many students face in our world.
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I feel as if this topic holds a lot of value, as it plays a vital role in the everyday lives of

the next working generation. Though failure should be seen as a “last resort,” it is crucial for

young people to be instilled with the realization that it is a part of life, and that their are healthy

ways to avoid it rather than stressing over it due to the fear of letting someone down. I believe

this topic holds potential, and I am looking forward to discovering if there are studies regarding

this topic. However, if i am honest I feel as if this topic will be rougher to find actual facts on

and real research but I look forward to diving in and really exploring it more. Pressures to

succeed are so present in our world, and I believe that this topic should be shared with many, as

it may open their eyes to the strong presence of these pressure in the lives of students. No matter

where it comes from, the pressure is very evident and people should hear how it is really

affecting their students. I do not know much about this topic except what I have experienced in

my home and what I have seen in the lives of my friends, being that it gets to the point where

students tend to break after stressing over what their parents pressure them with. I know for me,

it has gotten to the point where I no longer let my parents access my grades because it is my

education and I would like them to stay out because I already pressure myself to succeed.

In order to best write about this topic, I will need to thoroughly examine articles and find

out how this topic has been studied from a research standpoint. One major thing will be figuring

out how many students feel like this is a relevant issue in their lives, and I might ask peers of

mine for the purpose of even more realistic data. I hope to learn that this is not only a common

thing, but also that there are ways to educate students, parents, and teachers on ways to positively

emulate and deal with these pressures.

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How are the modern pressures to succeed really affecting students as they embark further

into their academic careers?

In what ways do the modern pressures to succeed influence the stress that many modern

students face on almost a daily basis?

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-teenage-student-looks-frustrated-

problems-264683297?src=wIyFC_OPIBjYNURBrZnYYQ-1-3

This image portrays all the pressures that can affect a student on a daily basis, causing

their stress to vamp up to the max as it gets rough to balance everything. As these pressure

increase, they can really beat down on a person, as they seem to be beating down on the girl in

the image. In my opinion, this image is using mostly Pathos to convey its point, as no one would

want to see someone go through this much in terms of stress and anxiety, and it might meet those

parents who pressure their students and make them realize that they are putting their students

through a lot. The emotion that comes along with that realization might make them lighten up on

their students or at least increase their awareness on what their students might be going through

because of their parental pressures.