Cartoon by: Ariana Faith Par
Published by: John David Viñas
Date Published: March 19, 2025
Time Published: 4:03 PM
Grades will always be something many students need to maintain and there is no way to think otherwise. It is undeniable that it depends on performance since it is the core foundation of being a student. Regardless of whether you are a slow or fast learner, each student takes pride in their grades showcasing their grind and hard work. And yet many students fall under the trap of turning learning into an obsession of turning this pride as their ride or die facing the massive judgment of eyes that surrounds them.
Academic validation is known as the act of relating one’s self-worth to their grades. It is when your identity, happiness, and self-esteem are all tied to your academic achievements. over 75% of high school students report feeling stressed by academic work, many of them exhausted by the need for academic validation, a psychological pressure that stems from students giving
grades a lot of power over their sense of success. Many fall under with a blind sight thinking it is a healthy approach to learn something but end up facing the consequences that it also holds. While it does seem good on the surface tackling about how to get good grades it goes really deep once these students base their worth with their grades.
Two-thirds of high school students and 87 percent of college students find themselves stressed about their academics. Most fear that if they receive a low grade, then they are a failure in life. People continue to praise students who accomplish well academically, but they are unaware of the amount of effort required of them. Students who receive a lot of praise early on may base much, if not all, of who they are on their academic achievement. Academic praise can become unhealthy when not managed properly. It is heartbreaking to see a student base their worth over someone’s lapse of judgment.
In 2019 study organized by the Newport Institute proposed a new perspective on academic validation. The study revealed that people are more prone to anxiety, depression, declining health, poor habits (smoking, substance abuse, drinking), and depersonalization due to academic stress. And many fail to understand that it will end you in many aspects of your life whether its balancing relationships, spending time with the family or even enjoying your own hobbies. Validation will always feel good regardless of the field it is the feeling of praise that boosts our self-esteem but to consume this similar to sugar no matter how sweet it feels the more you take it, overconsuming will be the end of you. Academic validation was created to make students feel better about their hard work, it tends to have the opposite effect.
Is it really worth it, many may disagree and you see why they are miserable. There is nothing absolutely wrong with maintaining a good grade but learning with the wrong intention is what destroys an individual.
Being an academic achiever has always been a goal for every student. Everyone wants to perform well and be outstanding. But if it affects you on your way home and your character as a person then it is not something to be taken lightly. The impact of academic validation has a lot of negative impact that may not only make you inefficient it may also reduce your well-being. Grades are just grades. Students should be proud of their efforts and accomplishments, without the need to put themselves through immense amounts of stress and pressure in the eyes of everyone like a performer on a stage full of eyes expecting you to do perfectly in every way. You are more than what your report card says.
REFERENCES:
Are you striving or suffering in the pursuit of academic validation? | Students - Wilfrid Laurier University. (n.d.). https://students.wlu.ca/wellness-and-recreation/health-and-wellness/news/2023/winter/are-you-striving-or-suffering-in-the-pursuit-of-academic-validation.html
S.J Antonio et al. (2023). Reaffirming the critical role of transformative research and knowledge production in the age of Post-Truth [MA Thesis, De La Salle University]. https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1790&context=conf_shsrescon
Vargas-Gomez, G. (n.d.). Academic validation: the unhealthy relationship of a students’ life. The Spellbinder. https://thespellbinder.net/8346/opinion/academic-validation-the-unhealthy-relationship-of-a-students-life/
Rowell, A. (n.d.). The fall after the high: academic validation - Teens in Print. Teens in Print. https://teensinprint.com/the-fall-after-the-high-academic-validation/
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