Academic Pleasure Not Pressure

Asseil Benchekroun

ENG 1301-04

Professor Naceur Amakhmakh

December 10, 2014

Academic Pleasure not Pressure

“Stress is a burst of energy!” This sentence is attributed to the psychiatrist Dr. Lynne Tan of Montefiore Medical Center in New York City (Weaver, 2006). Most people do not share this idea because for many ordinary people, stress or pressure is not essential for success as is hard work or ambition. In fact, pressure or stress is usually seen as something that individuals should avoid feeling in order to be effective and efficient in whatever they undertake. However, for many artists, athletes or intellectuals like the historian Peter Marshall, pressure is also this little thing that pushes you to be better than ever (Peter Marshall Quotes). One must be sure that the great things that the humankind achieved so far were made under pressure. Do you not think that the great inventor Thomas Edison was under pressure when he turned on the light for the first time or when the General De Gaulle launched from London its first call for resistance? Just like diamonds are made under pressure, students need it as well to light their best skills in the eyes of the world. Although pressure might be beneficial, one still needs to manage it in order to keep it under control and avoid falling into the trap of academic failure.

Academic pressure is, according to Indian sociologist Abha Subba Rao, ‘’the pressure to perform well in final examinations and competitive university undergraduate or graduate entrance examinations” (Rao, 2008, p. 3). In fact, for many students this academic pressure leads to a great tension, especially as they get closer to crucial events like midterm examinations or final exams. The stress experienced due to academic pressure “not only compromises students’ performance levels but also deteriorates their health “(Conner et all, 2009, p. 3). From a scientific point of view, according to a study conducted by Medicare Company Heptares therapeutics...