A
study shows that stress from school hits students hard at all ages and grade
levels.
In
the study, students named more than 300 stress factors they felt at school. The
number one stress was schoolwork itself.
Contrary
to myth, most students work hard at school and want to do well. Having
difficulty can cause a great deal of stress.
More
girls than boys cited social stresses, and peer pressure about their
appearance. More boys than girls said they felt anxious about discipline. This
dovetails with studies that show more boys are disciplined than girls.
Also
listed were stresses ranging from riding the bus to preparing for a career.
Clearly,
no student can lead a stress-free life — plus, that would be terrible
preparation for the real world. But we know that an overload of stress can
cause physical and emotional problems that compound the situation.
For this reason, it is a good idea to reduce
some of the stress in children’s lives. Methods include using alternative forms
of discipline and increasing cooperative activities.
It’s
also critical to understand that each child is different, and matures at a
different rate.
This
knowledge prevents us from creating a one-size-fits-all situation where
deviations from the norm create an additional form of undue stress.
