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.
