With only a few days left, the 2026 - 2027 school year officially begins. Besides the joy of being admitted to the desired high school, many 10th grade students are having to get used to changes in the learning environment, friends and how to assert themselves.
Admitted to a key high school in the province with a fairly high score, Nguyen Mai Thu (15 years old, Lang Son) is still in a heavy mood.
At her old school, Thu used to be a class monitor, a top excellent student and often noticed by teachers. Entering 10th grade, she met friends from many places, who were good at studying, dynamic and confident.
Entering the new class, I felt myself suddenly become small. The students are not only good at studying but also very stylish, extremely confident in front of the crowd. I started to feel self-conscious about my background, not daring to raise my hand to speak out for fear of being ridiculed by the students if I was wrong," Thu confided.
Thu's story shows a form of peer pressure that often appears when students enter a new environment. They easily feel inferior to their friends when constantly looking at their achievements, appearance, family conditions or the prominence of others.
According to teacher Dang Thi Phuong, a teacher at Chiem Hoa Ethnic Minority Boarding Secondary and High School (Tuyen Quang), 10th grade students are in a sensitive stage in the process of forming and shaping personality.
Moving from secondary school to high school, changing learning methods and expanding relationships makes many children easily fall into a defensive state or follow crowds to be accepted.
Female teachers point out three common types of pressure in the early stages of high school.
First of all, there is material and physical pressure. When seeing friends using expensive items, having beautiful cars, many students are easily self-conscious about their family circumstances.
Even, some children may have conflicts with their parents because they demand items beyond their financial capacity just to be "comparable to friends".
Another pressure comes from academic results. Going from being a good student at the old school to becoming an average student in a group with many good classmates can make them doubt their abilities.
If not oriented in time, this psychology can lead to boredom, resignation, or fear of going to school.
Besides, some students may change their personality, learn inappropriate habits such as swearing, skipping school, isolating friends just to be accepted by a group of friends.
According to Ms. Phuong, the companionship of family and school in the first weeks plays an important role in helping students overcome this stage.
Instead of often saying "look at other people's children", parents need to be the first to recognize the differences and strengths of their children.
Each student has a different ability. Some students study math well, but some are outstanding in music, painting, or simply a friend who knows how to listen and lives kindly.
The family needs to become a safe place for children to share their surprises and pressures in the new environment without worrying about being judged.
For students, the way to reduce peer pressure is to accept yourself and limit comparing yourself to others.
Taking your starting point to compare with the achievements of friends easily creates a feeling of inferiority. Instead, the achievements of friends can become a motivation for each student to identify goals and strive for progress.
The high school environment is not only a place where students compete for achievements but also an opportunity for them to get acquainted, interact and learn from differences.
Real confidence does not come from expensive clothes or new phones, but from knowledge, a positive attitude to life and a heart that knows how to respect itself," Ms. Phuong said.
