Harrison Park students reveal everyday sources of pressure

Harrison Park Elementary School's media and writing teams collaborated on on a project to get insight on what causes students stress. The media team worked on the video and the writing team interviewed and compiled anonymous responses from their classmates about what stresses them out in their daily lives, whether it be teachers, siblings or social media.

"My stress is my body." – 2nd grader

"My brother and Luis do not know if they want to go to City Middle or stay at this school." - 2nd grader

"So, how many people reading this are under pressure about their future, like me? I don’t know if I should go to City Middle, which is a really good school, or stay at this school. This kind of stress stresses me out. And I am aslo scared that my grades will go down and I will become nothing in life. It sometimes gets scary." -5th grader

"When your mom or dad helps you on your homework they put a lot of pressure on you. So ask mom or dad to not put that much pressure and to calm down. Teachers put a lot of pressure too! Teachers try to help and they yell so that’s pressure. Try to talk to an adult and tell them that they need to not put pressure in your life all the time!" – 5th grader

"Parents cause stress, they have you do lots of stuff and never give you time to relax and cool down. Also sisters can make you feel like you have a headache by having to clean your room when you have to do something else. These are just some things that can make you feel stressed out." – 5th grader

"When you’re online, you may say something offending or do something that they didn’t like on accident and they might unfriend you. The stress is when you try to tell them something quick but you have to text to tell them and then it’s too late. Once they unfriend you, you want to say sorry but you can’t tell them. Well, if that happened to you then you’re not alone. That has happened to me, it’s sad and I want to talk to them really bad but you can’t." – 5th grader

"My teacher yells. She be like 'do your work or get out the class room or clip down or I’m going to call our mom'. She treats us like babies. We have a clip chart in a fifth grade like we’re five. Me and my friend like her but then we don’t because she’s so mean to us and she is always over our shoulders and she be like 'be quiet' or she sends us to another classroom. I hope you kids out there have a better life than me and my friend do and she barely trusts us and she say stop lying you know you did it that’s what she basically say to us." – 5th grader

"Bullies are a main part of stress because they break you down. They try to get a reaction. They stress you out. No doubt about that!! This is a self-experience because I get bullied all the time. DON’T LET THEM STRESS YOU OUT!!!!" – 5th grader

"My teacher stresses me out. She says 'Try to do the work on your own and I’ll see if its correct'. But she never teaches us the work. Next she yells at me for no reason. Then I’m the only one to get sent to another class. Me and my friend don’t like her sometimes. – 5th grader

Note: Harrison Park Elementary students agreed to share their thoughts on stress anonymously.