Student athletes face added pressure to succeed

Student athletes face added pressure to succeed

Extracurricular activities and sports can help students gain admission to university. But is the need to ace exams and win one for the team too much pressure? Photo illustration of teen athletes against a backdrop of grades and college application. This article, by...

Youth correspondent Micah Earnest of News Decoder partner The Tatnall School gives us a glimpse into the life of a student athlete in an article that asks us to redefine “success” for young people. With mounting pressure to succeed in academics and extracurricular activities, some student athletes with college aspirations are seeing declines in mental health. What can we do to change that? 

Exercise: Have students read the article, then launch a discussion to answer the question that appears at the end of the text: “What can we do for people now and future generations to make schooling a better learning space for high schoolers who want to succeed without feeling inferior to others if they do not do a sport or reach the top 1% of their class?” You may consider using the Think-Pair-Share protocol for this discussion (i.e. Students think and jot down notes independently, discuss with one partner and finally, volunteers share ideas with the class.). 

Climate change is stressing us out. Can good come of that?

Climate change is stressing us out. Can good come of that?

Anxiety about the fate of the planet is harming the mental health of young people. Can we help them funnel their frustration into a force for change? Climate change activist holding a banner with the message, “The world is dying and so are we,” 24...

In a prime example of a student-produced piece, high school student Kendal Andress from the Tatnall School in Delaware discusses solution-focused climate action in response to rising eco-anxiety among young people. With sources ranging from UNICEF to interviews with NGO founders and local leaders, this article highlights News Decoder’s mission to amplify youth voices.

Exercise: Prepare four large pieces of butcher paper. Label the sheets: individual action, local action (city/state/province), national action, international action. Have your class read the article, then divide students into four groups. Each group will begin with one sheet and write down ways in which people can act to fight climate change at the level written on their paper. After 10-15 minutes, have students pass the paper along, so another group can add to their responses. Continue until all groups have contributed to all four sheets of paper and discussed action at all four levels. (Activity can also be done through a shared Google Slide deck).

Youth Voices