It is a known fact that high school students have a stress level. When in limits, it leads to progress because a certain amount of pressure is necessary to push things or studies forward. At the same time, the stress should not be a punishment or threaten the normal life of the student.
In such cases, it needs parents and teachers attention to help the pupil get out of the stress. Indeed, the school environment can influence positively to curb stress. In this blog, we discuss how to manage stress in high school.
In our previous blog, “Help Your Child Beat Stress in High School – Parent Teacher Guide I”, we have understood the causes and symptoms of stress on high school students. And also, the blog threw light on some of the important tips for parents to help their child cope up with the stress.
To summarise again here, the causes of stress include stepping back to make friends, earning grades, parent pressure, and/or adolescent issues. When left unattended, sometimes, it may turn as a problematic issue affecting health and psychology. However, the symptoms are generally temporary and surpass with the time when given a little care, moral support, and attention by the parents.
Moving forward, let us understand the ways to reduce stress for students in high school.
The children spend most of their active day time in school. It is a kind of second home for them. And, the teachers play a powerful role in reducing stress.
One way to limit stress in students is giving a comfortable ambiance. It may include motivational and relaxing pictures or sayings on the walls, bean bag chairs, standing desks, exercise balls, or even the floor. Apart from the ambiance, the other tips to reduce stress in the classroom are as follows.
Ways to Reduce Stress for Students in High School:
Scheduling tests and homework:
Many times, it happens that the science teacher might have given some important assignments that have to be submitted the next day. At the same time, the maths teacher may announce a test the following day.
The first bench students always say yes to both the schedules. But, the backbenchers or the other students may not have enough strength to say ‘no’ or prepare well to meet both the schedules on the same day.
Scheduling time to organize the desk:
It is understood that the student desk may remain cluttered due to varied activities from the morning. It is recommended to allow time for desk organization twice a week or so. This gives energy for the students to groom themselves and their surroundings. When done collectively, it brings in harmony within the class as they interact with fellow mates in organizing things.
Scheduling classroom activities:
Apart from academic class hours, physical training and other co-curricular activities, if the teacher can schedule classroom activities such as simple yoga, word games, and any interactive activities that build a relationship with the fellow mates. Increased social connectivity helps to increase oxytocin level, the hormone for love in the body and reduces cortisol, the stress hormone.
Acknowledging student efforts:
Acknowledging the student efforts help them to build confidence and encourage for perseverance. A simple uplift in the form of grades or announcing as the star of the week, or an appreciation boosts the esteem and morale of the students.
Facilitating flexible due dates on assignments or helping them to manage time efficiently goes a long way in building a better relationship between human.
Student counseling cell:
It is recommended that every school have NLP trained teachers to help the students in need. Students coming from the different cultural and economic background, having IQ difference may need help and moral support to pursue academics successfully. A student counseling cell helps in classroom management, boosts the confidence of the students and brings out the hidden talents in them.
Self-regulation:
In addition to all these, it is important to emphasize on self-regulation as per neurophysiology and psychological findings. The students must be made strong enough to self-regulate themselves without help and aware of their responsibilities. This improves the classroom management and also reduces the learning curve for students to excel in the academics.
Conclusion:
A healthy environment and moral support help your student to inculcate good habits, build strength, and make a difference in their career and life.
Read our previous blog “Help Your Child Beat Stress in High School – Parent Teacher Guide I”, where we have discussed how parents can help their child studying in high school beat stress.