A student's world is a very complicated place with two options: a relaxed childhood filled with quality learning and experimentation, or a childhood so demanding and exhausting that students I can no longer handle it. Currently, the deciding factor for the path students will follow is the conditions and environment provided to students by the previous generation. For example, Finland is one of the most successful countries in creating appropriate educational frameworks for students to excel in global competition. The policies created by the Finnish government and its authorities are more than suitable to extract the best potential from students without negative side effects. Finnish students benefit from more breaks throughout the day, a reduced amount of teaching, less busy work, and almost no tests. Meanwhile, in the United States, stressed students are overwhelmed by the amount of exams and standardized tests they are required to take and are falling behind on the amount of homework assigned to them, which in many cases many cases have no real value. The environment is almost at a brain-crippling level, where some students work more hours per day than adults. U.S. policies attempt to compensate for educational lag by increasing the amount of work students must do, but this is clearly a strategy that harms the healthy development of American children. School-related stress not only has a serious impact on students' health, but it also has detrimental consequences on their academic performance. Student pressure and stress have many causes, leading to health problems and contributing to lower academic performance. There are, however, many sol...... middle of paper ......ner, Jerusha, Denise Pope and Mollie Galloway. “Succeed with less stress.” Educational Leadership 67.4 (2009): 54. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. December 2009. Web. February 9, 2014. Freeman, Andrew. “The Finnish Education System: 10 Surprising Facts Americans Should Not Ignore.” » Get involved. Participating Media, August 14, 2012. Web. February 13, 2014. Galloway, Mollie K. and Denise Pope. “Dangerous duties?.” Meeting 20.4 (2007): 25-31. Premier Academic Research. EBSCO. 2007. Internet. February 9, 2014. Redding, Alexis Brooke. “Extreme Pressure: The Negative Consequences of Achievement Culture for Affluent Students During the Elite College Admissions Process.” Journal of College Admissions 221 (2013): 32-37. Premier Academic Research. EBSCO. 2013. Internet. February 10, 2014. Weissbourd, Richard. “The over-pressured student.” Educational Leadership 68.8 (2011): 22-27. ERIC. EBSCO. May 2011. The web. February 11. 2014.