Dealing with stress in school - 2

What you need to know:

Majority of students under stress make bad decisions, of which at the end carry the negativity aspects of human personnel.

Last week I talked about how stress is one of the major factors affecting the performance of students at school.
Along with this, I wrote of how teachers can actively help students deal with stress. But if nothing is done then accumulation of stress among students can be unhealthy - to an extent of being dangerous. Let’s look at the bigger impact.

What are the effects of stress
• Majority of students under stress make bad decisions, of which at the end carry the negativity aspects of human personnel.
• Some of the students who face this problem and yet keep attending the school normally, get through their academic year being lonely and inactive. They fail to involve themselves in school activities.
• The further effects of stress to such students keep widening. At the end those who are affected by the stress build up negative attitude towards their teachers.
It is a fact that when the same teachers enter the class for the lesson, such students won’t understand the session if they are not settled psychologically.
• The other effect that may result from stress in students is feeding into negative behaviour. Such as being involved in street groups, skipping school, engaging in dangerous activities like theft, drug abuse and even ending up as street vendors.
I believe there has to be a way forward that psychology can play here in solving the problem of stress among students.

Helping a stressed student cope
We have seen how stress creates room for destruction to an individual in all aspects. In a normal situation, the student who is affected with such problem would be found with a negative attitude when in class or school compound.
When the problem keeps widening, it makes the minds of learners seize at working faster as they used to be when accomplishing their academic activities.
Here’s how we can help a stressed student:
1. There is a need for the teacher to create good psychological environments that favour the students to take their academic activities when at school.
2. Teachers need to keep their students close and study them so that they well understand the student’s behavioural affections, needs and the ways to help and cater to their needs. This helps teachers understand the good psychological environments needed and that which suits the development of students in making them feel comfortable when at school.
3. Reminding a student of something specific you have seen him/her do that shows an ability to function under stress can assist a student in overcoming what he/she might be feeling. This also includes complimenting on his/her strengths by giving specific examples.
4. A conversation usually matters. One of the most helpful things that one human can do for another is to listen in a calm and accepting way.
If the feeling of hopelessness continues to grip the student, then ask how he/she is managing to cope, a question such as “So, with all this going on, how on earth are you managing? What does it take to even get in here today?” This may surprise the student into mentioning a few of their strengths. Get them to elaborate as much as you can.
The ill-health and injuries inflicted by stress to the system of student’s academic arena if not prevented early may lead to suffering and loss of the student due to school dropout.
Let’s reach out to them today.
The author is an expert in the field of education.