by Kathleen Kury Farrell
The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA recently released findings from its annual survey of more than 200,000 college freshmen. This year’s headline-grabber is the negative trend in students’ self-reported mental health (see this NY Times article, for example). The entering class of 2010 gives their own mental health the lowest assessment of any cohort in the survey’s 25 year history. They say they are frequently overwhelmed by all they have do – a feeling that seems to carry over from the stress they experienced in high school. Interestingly, more women report being overwhelmed than men, and women’s perceived stress levels are actually greater as well.
My own work in higher education has been motivated by a concern for students’ holistic success. Although I’ve enjoyed many roles inside the classroom, my professional responsibilities and research interests have revolved around the time students spend in residence halls, campus governance, clubs and organizations, student employment, and much more. In each of these roles I witnessed the highs and lows that students experience as they encounter what one wise colleague termed “the tyranny of opportunities” that can exist in a collegiate environment.
Although I did not find the UCLS report surprising, it is nevertheless sobering to be reminded of how challenging our students’ lives can be. The findings hit home, in part, because many educators occasionally experience the same feeling of frenzy that our students convey. And, for some, stress is a similarly unhealthy way of life.
In the wake of this press I’ve found myself wondering whether even lives that are “purpose-full” and relatively low-stress can unwittingly reinforce the notion that busy-ness is necessary, or that overflowing days convey achievement and worth. It is probably fair to say that the adults who are most personally involved in young adults’ lives balance many roles while putting in long hours at work and serving in their communities. Young people often see us on the move and hear us talking (and sometimes complaining) about our fine-tuned schedules. What they typically don’t see are the difficult, ongoing – and typically private – deliberations in which adults weigh priorities and decide to say “no.”
It goes without saying that many students need and benefit from the expertise and guidance found in their school counseling centers. However, I don’t think we should overlook the power that stories and experience have to support students in their struggles. I’ve been involved in assessing two programs that are designed as proverbial ports in the storm. Consisting of panels and/or discussion groups, these initiatives invite students to slow down, take stock, and consider what they are doing with their lives and why. These sessions often include recent alumni, faculty, staff, and “older-wiser” peers who tell their stories so younger students can learn from their difficult decisions and, occasionally, their failures.
Such exchanges go beyond time management to the more challenging and meaningful task of how to manage one’s self. Participants’ feedback underscores how valuable it is to know others also find their must-dos and want-to-dos isolating and oppressive. More important, they hear in these stories a message that it is normal and necessary to be proactive in charting one’s course and revising it constantly. Learning to prioritize, commit to, and let go of opportunities and commitments are difficult lessons but ones that every person confronts – often many times over! Unless educators make the lessons of doing so explicit we run the risk that young people will take implicit cues from busy environments and continue feeling overwhelmed.