School stress: how to calm everyone down?

It's one of the evils of the century: stress. In a world of performance, most people are pushed to constantly surpass themselves in the workplace. Not to mention the added social and family pressures. This leads to all sorts of complications: insomnia, depression, etc. It would be easy to believe that this is just an adult problem. But young people also experience stress and, unfortunately, suffer the consequences.

You're stressed, I'm stressed

School is a breeding ground for stress for children and teenagers. Many of the stress factors can be summed up in one word: pressure. They often feel that the grade is everything, and that a few bumps in the road will ruin their future. Not to mention the fact that many feel they have to put in extra effort to get all the work done outside school hours. And these are usually regular students who are experiencing this stress. Now imagine those with learning disabilities. Their anxiety is constant, trying as much as possible to hide their "secret" which they consider shameful. And these already highly anxious learners can quickly become destabilized by a change in school routine.

Teachers therefore have a vital role to play in reducing the anxiety of these children and those with behavioral problems. However, teachers need to control their own nervousness, as they are not immune to stress in the workplace. According to a study by the University of British Columbia, this feeling has repercussions on learners. Students of teachers who had already experienced burnout were found to have higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in their blood. And the effect is also seen in reverse. In short, it's a vicious circle from which it's hard to escape.

Eliminate or embrace stress?

So, how can we reduce school-related stress? Some experts believe in promoting the principle of self-regulation and adapting teaching to students' phases. As explained here, no one is always at the same speed all day long. There are moments of acceleration and braking. This has to be taken into account.

In an elementary school in France, pupils use peer massage. It goes without saying that they massage each other consensually and with their clothes on. Listening to what the children and teaching staff have to say, it seems to work. These short sessions not only calm them down, they also help them regain their concentration and learn to settle down. This technique is also used in Sweden and Canada.

In Quebec, for the past 4 years, an experimental project has been running to educate learners to take control of their stress. In two high schools, students took part in five one-hour workshops called "Dé-stresse et progresse", in which they were able to recognize the origins of stress and how to overcome feelings of panic and anxiety in these situations.

In fact, the program has identified four major causes that go by the acronym SPIN: Low sense of control over events, Threatened personality (judgment of others), Unpredictability (surprise exam or broken-down bus) and Novelty.

The program seems to be working so far, with a 75% drop in stress-related requests for help, according to the psychoeducator at one of the schools.

Finally, perhaps the bad effects of stress are caused by its negative perception. Because, as such, it's not always bad to be stressed. This is the struggle of Kelly McGonigal, who released the book " The Upside of Stress " in 2015. According to her analysis, the body tries to energize itself to respond to situations when it's stressed. So there's a purpose to it and, as she points out, it's experienced by everyone. Obviously, the psychologist doesn't deny the damaging effects of stress on the body, and doesn't encourage people to necessarily be stressed.

However, by trying not to take a completely negative view of it when it arises, you can reduce its consequences. Make a friend of your enemy. Would it be possible to see this approach implemented in schools one day?

Illustration: Milan Nykodym Maruška via photopin (license)

References

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Tranter, David, and Donald Kerr. "Self-Regulation: Why Stress In Students Hurts Their Learning." Ministère De L'Éducation. Last updated: February 2016. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/fre/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/ww_struggle.html.

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