This essay is old. It is written before computers came to college, before video games and Facebook. How is this still topical?
What are the four pressures?
How do you respond to pressure?
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This piece relates so well to the times that are going on right now. The economic pressure is really heavy right now on even high school students. Because of the recession, it's kind of a hard time to grow up. Children of the recession are going to be even more paranoid and money conscious than their parents. They are going to be the parents that want to force their kids into being doctors or lawyers, except they are going to be worse than the ones that were there in the seventies and the ones around now. I would not be surprised if we pushed our kids so hard another rebellions started and we would have hippies round 2. :) It's weird that this piece was written a long time ago. It seems to really go along with the times now. Peer pressure is a huge thing that can be related to easily. It's difficult to watch others succeed and think, "i bet i could do that if I just tried harder." We've been taught to compare ourselves to others by society, advertising and all the usual suspects. But that's where self-induced pressure comes from. We chose to be pressured by other people. We chose to fall victim to this huge hoax of success. The fact is that life is going to do what it wants with you and you don't have all that much say in it. That scares people. It scares me, which is why I am easily pressured to do all of these things. I want to be a lawyer so I don't have to live paycheck to paycheck. The pressure is there and we are very responsive. I think the fact that we're in this class shows that we are at least a little responsive. (I am not speaking for everyone, Idk everyones motives.) My personal reaction to pressure can vary from anger to a thriving and purposeful existense. It's not something that you can just shoo away. That's the thing about pressure, it's always there. In some small way. Even if we ignore it it's still there.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this piece, I started to think that it was more in the past than I originally thought. All the pressures the author exposes are very true today, I thought it was a modern piece. This is until I got to the part about tuition...saying it is $7000 dollars...That would be extremely cheap today. So without knowing this information, the reader could infer that it was written in the past.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author that the students should be able to enjoy life, take in the experience. The students mentioned in the book, and students today seem way too uptight about scholastics. And the author does a good job of pointing out the specific pressures that drive them to act this way.
The four pressures are economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure and self-induced pressure. Students feel very pressured to excel in school so they can get a good job, that pays well, to support themselves in this economy. Parents push their kids to do what they think is best for them...which is not always true. (As in the case of the artistic girl.) Peer pressure and self-induced pressure are the worst. Seeing the other students everyday creates a never-ending stuggle to be better than everyone else. And people in general can be way too hard on themselves, wearing themselves out, never fully enjoying the great opportunites they have.
This essay was very well written and the proof of it being so good is that it still strongly conects with the times we face today about college and our economy. The pressure and obstcals faced going into college that the author presents are still true for us today. With the struggles our economy has been facing education costs keep raising with for students increases stress and worry upon them.
ReplyDeleteThe four types of pressure that the autor presents are very clear and i belive could be guessed even without reading the piece. If you were to think about four types of pressure that is put on to college students these are what would definitely come to my mind. All students face the pressure to succede by there parents or guardians, they encourage us from a young age to be successful and to obtain high grades so you are able to go into college and be successful in life. The next pressure is the pressure that the student places on themselves to succed and obtain success in life. Stress for this are good grades in school to lead to a good college then into a good paying job. This self induced pressure i belive is just the smiple drive and modivation to live a successful life, and i believe that it is a necessary part of life to a certain degree. Sometimes people can place too much unrealistic pressure upon themselves. Then as students deal with the pressures of themselves they can see the success of others around them, which creates a drive and almost a need to compete to be better than all the others. This would be peer pressure. The last pressure would be the economy and the amount of money that it takes to be able to go into college and the pressure to be able to get into a good paying job after college to pay off student loans and to not be forced to live paycheck by paycheck.
I personally respond to these pressures, both my peers and my parents push me in positive ways. The pressure that is placed upon me from them is out of love and trying to help guide me in my furture for what is best for me. Pressure of the economy does concern me and makes me want to be 100 percent on what i am going into school for because it cost so much money that i dont have to begin with. Self induced pressure is the worst for me to deal with i sometimes am to rough on myself and can not occomplish the things that i need to because i struggle in the stress of it instead.
You could tell that this essay was old and was written in the past. You could also tell that technology did not play a major role at this time in history. The four pressures in this essay was the pressure that the students face, Peer pressure, The pressure that the professors put on you, economic pressure.
ReplyDeleteThis essay is still true even today. More than ever college students worry about so much. They worry about paying for college and how they are going to try to avoid paying for it for the rest of their lives. They also worry about and are pressured about doing good in college and not becoming a failure. They also are pressured about what their freinds think of them. And how many friends will pressure their so called friends into partying and doing things that they would normally not do if they were not pressured.
Right now in my life I am under a lot of pressure. Pressure to do good in school. Get better SAT scores and get into college. Their are also many other pressures like how it is the last year of school and you want to make a lasting impression in school and be a good role model.
Personally I don't think I deal with pressure that great . I let things go overboard and get too much stuff on my plate then when it is all too much I face the facts and most likely I break down or In a rare instance I might keep it to myself until I come to the point where I just blow up. I think about stuff too much and sometimes this prevents me from sleeping at night, so I have to write down what I am thinking or what I need to do for the day ahead then finally I will fall asleep and let my worries go away at least for a little while. I think I handle peer pressure well and I tend to not let my friends push me into things I do not want to do, and this helps avoid pressure. Now with my parents that is a whole different story. I tend to let them talk me into things, but I do give my opinion and sometimes they do listen to me. The economic aspect of college has been a major concern for my parents but they do support me in anything I do. My Grandparents have been bugging me lately and have been trying to push me into which college to go to and what college not to and I have let this get to me a little bit. But I let them say what they want to say and I know that they are just doing this because they care and they love me. I speak my mind and for the most part I don't care what other people think of me because I have become confident with my self and have learned to not let things that people say or do get to me .
This essay relates a lot to what is going on in our lives right now. The prices of things continue to increase and we are about to enter ourselves into the college atmosphere. I think the four pressures are economic pressures, peer pressure, pressure from their parents ( they paid for them to go to college so they dont want to mess up or disappoint their parents), and pressure that a person puts on themselves ( most likely is developed by the person striving to achieve and not wanting to mess up). I am not a very big victim of pressure. People can tell me to do things or suggest that i do things and i usually listen, but then go off to do what i intended to do in the way i intended to do it. The only pressure i go under is the pressure from myself trying to not fail and the pressure from my parents (not wanting to disappoint them).
ReplyDeleteThis piece still is very effective even thirty years after it was written simply because the principles still apply and that us as pre-college students can begin to relate to this topic on a micro and macro scale. The four pressures are economic pressures, parental pressures, self pressures, and peer pressures. What is pressure exactly? "The Burden Of Physical or Mental Distress." Pressure really is just how one reacts to a placed set of circumstances, simply psychological, part of the silly human condition. As a person in our current society many of us feel the need that we need to be the best, maybe is a silly American point of view. We always feel obligated to succeed which then arises the question of "what is success?" The success of being financially well fit, the success of pleasing a parent, the success of conforming a society that inevitably rejects the "non-norm." Who has the right to say what is the norm? Are we to feel obligated to conform so we simply feel accepted in some shard of human existence. These are sick times that we live in and this piece simply states what is evident but most neglect to acknowledge.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with Zinsser's knowledge on the topic of college pressures because he not only provided his opinions, but he also laid out numerous examples and situations that supported his ideas. Although he specifically described the pressures of college students, I found that a lot of his ideas were true for many high school students as well. Reading this piece reminded me that I am not the only person who deals with pressure, which provides a small sense of relief. I really liked the comments that Zinsser made about students doing more than they are expected to do. I think that it is so prevalent today that it often goes without notice, because it seems to be so commonplace. After reading this piece I even noticed this occurring in our blogs. Almost everyone's blog continues to get longer each time and it may be because these are topics of interest, but it could also be that we feel the need to go "over and above" what others are doing. It causes shorter blogs to appear less complete, even though the assignment is clearly fulfilled. (not to say that people who write long blogs should write less or short bloggers should write more...it's simply an observation)
ReplyDeleteI was aware that this piece was written well in the past, but many of its ideas still correlate to today's society. There are still many college students who undergo a lot of pressure and have trouble dealing with it. The push towards becoming doctors, lawyers, and other occupations that are highly paid still exists today and there are still students who are choosing these because of outside influences, not because it's something that they truly wish to pursue. When performing interviews for the Naval Academy, the interviewer has to determine the level of "motivation" that an applicant has because there are so many that are applying there simply because their parents want them to attend a prestigious school.
Zinsser says that the four pressures are:
- economic pressure
- parental pressure
- peer pressure
- self-induced pressure
These pressures are still very prevalent today and affect the lives of many students. With today's economy I would have to say that economic pressure is right at the top, but parental pressure and self-induced pressure come in as a close second.
For myself, however, I find the self-induced pressure to be the most difficult to deal with because it is hard to control since I can't really see the full impact that it has on me. This pressure tends to weigh me down often, but I deal with it by not dealing with it. I simply ignore it and accept the fact that it is there. I realize that isn't the best way to handle it in the long run but it works for now.
Despite how much our society differentiates from the past, there are still common human experiences many of us share no matter what era it is. One many of us in this class will experience very soon is the entry into college. The reason this essay is still relevant thirty years later is because of the immense pressure college students face due to the challenges they are presented with and also their own personal constraints. At the time, many teens entering college feel as if no one has been under as much stress as they have -the stress to apply, await approval or rejection, get the subsequent work done and pay the outrageous tuition. But this essay's power comes from its ability to put a name to this pressure and make the young reader realize "this has happened to others" and older readers realize "the youth of today and the problems they face have not fundamentally changed".
ReplyDeleteThe author identified the four college pressures as being
1) economic
2) parental
3) peer
4) self-induced
The severity of these pressures on the overall college populous and on each individual college student differs, but they are all undeniably present in the life of a college student.
As the author described the students in his essay through their words and the experiences of his colleagues with the students I could see parts of myself. This was especially true for the sections on the students with a high ambition and those who feel like their life will stray away from them and be wasted if they don't have a distinct plan for it. Reading this essay reminded me of my personal constraints and how they can be my greatest roadblock to success if they go unchecked.
Personally, I respond to pressure in stages...
Stage 1: Freak out a little inside but try not to let others see
Stage 2: Calm myself down and refocus on the goal I wish to achieve
Stage 3: (usually) End up producing my best work
This situation is typical for me 99% of the time but it is not always foolproof. However, I have found that I work much more efficiently under pressure. Too bad both the college students in the essay and I fail to realize at times that the pressure to succeed is not something to succumb to. You must control your own life and not let the pressure control you.
For being an older essay, this piece still applies well to how things are today. The pressures faced by college students back then are very similar as to the way they were back then. For example all the pressures that were on students back then are on students now. The way things are done has changed a lot, but that is because time changes things. But for the most part this essay portrays how it is now too. The four pressures are economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. These pressures existed back then, and they still exist now. They might change as to which one is the pressuring out of the four though. Out of those four right now the most pressing might be the economic pressures. This is due to the economic crisis our country is in. Many people dont have jobs, or dont have money to go to college, or send their kids off to college. There are ways around this, such as scholarships and financial aid, but most people still graduate from college in debt. Students are also under a great amount of pressure from their parents because they want to do well and make them proud, not let them down or disappoint them. Students are affected by peer pressure because they feel the need to do better than what their peers are doing. Like in the essay when the author was talking about how someone writes a ten page paper when a five page paper was assigned. Students feel the need to do better than that, or to at least compete with it so they write more and more, thus putting more pressure on themselves. I try not to get too much pressure on myself as much as possible because it is just stressful, but for the most part I would say I handle pressure fairly well. I dont let it get the best of me.
ReplyDeleteAlthough technology has significantly progressed since the seventies, the basic college experience really hasn't changed. Students go to college to get an education and while there are loaded down with work while trying to have the best time they can. It was true in the seventies and is still true today. According to the author, the four pressures are economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. The economic pressure has always been around but even more so in the seventies and today due to them both being times of recessions. College is an expensive route in this life and many students really feel the economic pressure, varying depending on their own economic situation and what college they are attending. That pressure is never going to dissapear in our capitalistic society. And then there's the parental pressure. Who doesn't want their parents bearing down on them, guiding every action they do. That pressure is probably the hardest for students to deal with. As this piece states, students want to make their parents happy, but they also want to do what makes them happy. It is a constant balancing act that can cause some students to crack completely. The piece uses the words peer pressure. I think that a more accurate term would be competetive pressure. The author uses the example of students competing to create the longest paper. I see that as more of a competition than peer pressure. And probably the most destructive of all the pressure, self-induced pressure can become ridiculously powerful against people. This is because the three other pressures can build up on top of it creating this overbearing shadow that students have to carry around with them all the time. The actual pressures of college can seem much greater in one's mind than they actually are.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to pressure, I usually keep my head and logically deal with it. Then I know that I can just shrug it off and get whatever needs to be completed done. I don't think that there was any instances in which I cracked under the pressure but then again my memory isn't all that great.
I think that the author did a great job with this essay. I think that he did a great job with the tone. It was casual and yet intellectual all at the same time. I really think that the notes in the beginning of the piece really helped put the pressure of students into perspective. Even someone who has never been to college would have empathy towards the students who wrote the notes.
I like christyn's comment, "You must control your own life and not let the pressure control you." People often allow the pressure to consume them and they end up losing control over their own lives.
ReplyDeleteI also like the comment that josh made, "The piece uses the words peer pressure. I think that a more accurate term would be competitive pressure."
I think everyone agrees that even though this piece was written in the past, it still very applies to college life today and is very accurate.
ReplyDeleteI like the comments about pressure from parents. They are the ones paying for you to get a good education and improve your life. Students therefore feel if they mess up on the littlest thing, they are letting down their parents that are giving them this great opportunity.
I think that students need to focus on their studies, yet not let them control their life.
I agree with Sam in saying that everyone thought that this essay is still relevant with the "college experience" today even though this essay was written thirty years ago. It seems that everyone identified with the four pressures really well. I think that Emma pointed out the economic pressures really well, especially with the explanation of children growing up in a recession are going to push their children harder to get good jobs. She really tied the economic and parental pressures together really well.
ReplyDelete