Youth & Stress

Dear Students, I am sure you've probably been hearing the same suggestions from your parents since you were in primary school -  “If you don't get good grades, you won't get into a good college, you won't get a good job and you'll end up with a useless job and not be succesfull”.

Well, it is true that your parents are right as academic performance really does affect what fields you can get into and what type of job you can have in the future. After all, you wouldn't expect a student with 40% marks to get into IIT or into Medical or Engineering Colleges. So, it is natural that students start getting anxious and spend sleepless nights worrying about the upcoming exams. They may experience negative thoughts and unpleasant physical symptoms which prevent them from performing to the best of their ability. Students, just relax! You need not worry. It is wise to remember that exams are not here as a punishment. Instead, they are a good way of testing how much you have learnt and understood over the year.

Whether you are taking the CBSE X & XII Board Exams or PMT, PET, IIT- JEE, CAT or appearing for any other Entrance Exam, you should not worry. Don’t get over-anxious, it never helps. Whether you're in High School, College, or University, constantly dealing with stress and pressures can have a big impact on your overall academic success .

1. Stress Affects Your Health

Stress suppresses your immune system, which causes increased susceptibility to contracting viruses and health problems like headaches and upset stomach, and I am sure I don't need to tell you that if you're sick, you won't be able to give 100% to your classes. You may not feel up to studying or you could suffer further from missing classes. If stress is causing physical symptoms, it's time to consult a professional therapist or stress management consultant.

2. Stress Affects Your Memory Retention

Students who experience large amounts of stress in their lives often have trouble with memory retention. When you're stressed, you're more likely to forget the facts and figures presented in class, and you'll be less likely to successfully recall this information on tests, labs and on real life applications. Obviously, this is a problem for anyone who wants to do well in college, so try to identify and remedy the causes of stress in your life if you find you're forgetting more than you retain from your classes.

3. Stress Causes Anxiety

Students who face a tremendous amount of stress may also suffer from anxiety - ranging from mild cases of worry to severe cases of stress. If you're suffering from anxiety at any level, you'll find that you can't focus as well on your school work or on other aspects of student life like extra-curricular activities and personal relationships with your friends & family.

4. Stress Can Make You into a Nervous Wreck

Stress can turn an ambitious student into one who's nervous and unsure about the future. It's easy to witness a certain level of anxiety when you have a test on Monday, an assignment due for submission on Wednesday and a Debate to prepare for on Friday - but don't let these little things affect your drive for success. If you find yourself thinking that there's no way you'll get everything done, try breaking large tasks down into smaller pieces and tackle them one bit at a time.

5. Stress Affects Your Self-Esteem

Students who feel overwhelmed by stress may experience feelings of guilt and hopelessness, causing their self-esteem to falter. If you've been late in handing over your assignments , it's easy to feel like you'll never get back on track - but don't think like this! If you get too caught up in your stumbles, you'll lose track of all the positive strides you've made in your studies. Remind yourself of all the good things you've accomplished so far and find small, concrete ways to get back on the right path.

6. Stress Can Lead to Health Problems

It's easy to let the competing academic and personal priorities of being a student get the better of you as a student, and it can become difficult to see outside all this stress. As a result, many students - particularly University students - end up dealing with depression.

So my dear students …If you're ever feeling that there's no way out of the stress you're under, seek proper care immediately,  speak to people who  understand what you're going through and  can help you work through the stress you're dealing with. Your parents are your best confidants so confide in them and allow them to help you to out.

Tina Olyai

Director 

LAHS 

www.lahs.org

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH – NEED OF THE HOUR

The greatest wealth and strength of any nation is its youth. The quality of its youth determines the kind of future, the nation will have. Therefore, if we want to ensure a bright future for our country, we first need to strengthen and empower our youth. The youth of any nation and society are its potential energy. They are the powerhouse and storehouse of infinite energy. They are the ones who are the pride of the nation. It is the youth which brings laurels to their country.

Everyone seems to think that the younger generation nowadays is just glued to social networking sites and has nothing to do with society or politics at large but you are mistaken. According to a recent survey a whopping 71% of Indian youth were found to be interested in politics as compared to a mere 45% in 2011.

Well interest is one thing and participation in electoral politics another. We have to see if this interest translates into higher voting percentage or not. It is a fact that one in every ten youth of India is highly interested in politics. The interest level of youth increases as their education and exposure to media rises. The huge surge in interest of youth in politics within two years has been rather significant. A study on “Indian Urban Youth and Political Participation” was conducted by Delhi’s Centre for the Study of Developing Society, which surveyed youth between the ages of 15 and 32. The report showed that interest of rural youth is not much different from that of urban youth of India. From the time of the freedom struggle the youth have had major roles to play and it won't be wrong if we say that the active youth participation played a big role in getting us independence in 1947.

The Indian Youth is bending more towards the developmental side and not just that, it participates unitedly in almost all the problems the country faces. The recent biggest example’s are that of the Nirbhaya Rape Case & the support from the youth brigade towards the Aam Admi Party headed by Arvind Kejriwal.

The Youth has anger as well as respect towards the political situations that arise in the country. They hold better analyzing power, they want change, change for betterment of their country. Instead of focusing on politics on the religious lines, the politicians should focus on the youth of the country and try to put forth their demands. The voice of a youth will obviously lead to a better tomorrow of the nation. This way, not only will the country become a better place to live in but it will also help decrease caste and religious based politics.

From terrorism to rapes and poverty to development, our youth want action, action towards the good of the country. More youth should be brought into the political front. This will not only increase the present conditions of the nation but will also see an increase in the literacy level of the political leaders.  

Youth participation is a must in the political front. The youth of the nation are much more aware about the problems, India is facing. Political parties should make sure that the voice of a youth does not go unheard. If we can harness this powerhouse of the nation in the right direction then the country can reach untold heights. All we need is to direct the energy of our youth in constructive channels that lead to development and progress. The creative potential of the younger generation coupled with their zeal, enthusiasm, energy and versatility can work wonders for the country. We need to empower our youth so that they can make a better tomorrow.

Schools must encourage students to take part in Model United Nation Sessions, Youth Parliaments and Youth Conclaves and Confluence so that they learn to use their voice strongly and learn to debate over the right issues. Since every third person in every city of India is categorized to be a youth therefore around 33% of the country's population comprises of youth. This way, the youth has a major role to play in the Indian politics and voting process.

After all, today's youth will be the future of India’s tomorrow.

Tina Olyai

Director LAHS

www.lahs.org

The 7 Habits of Highly Unhappy People.....!

It’s only when we acknowledge that we are 100% responsible for our own happiness that we start to ‘notice’ our actions that create our unhappiness and start to shed the habits that sabotage our contentment and joy. Many of us do not want to accept that their very habits are the cause of their unhappiness. Here are the 7 habits of highly unhappy people.

Judging: When you judge others you lose your inner peace, the primary ingredient of authentic happiness, on the mental heals of which often come the sentence and the punishment! All together (judgment, sentence and punishment), they make up the package called ‘condemnation’ which is a guaranteed happiness killer!

Criticising: Criticising is attacking, and somewhere ‘in there’ usually lies anger albeit in a milder form. And when you are angry you are unhappy. Some of us hide criticism behind ‘constructive criticism.’ Any criticism with anger is more often revenge; any criticism with revenge, however gentle, is punishment in disguise; an unhappy habit.

Complaining: Complaining is endemic in some cultures. Complaining signals the presence of distress and therefore the absence of happiness whereas ‘giving feedback’ and ‘making a request’ ensure that there is no discontentment. Easy theory, but hard to practice, especially if we have been playing that old ‘complaining  record’ all our life.

Blaming: Projecting blame onto someone else is not only a happiness killer but usually a habit to avoid responsibility. It’s driven by the perfect combination of anger and fear and is therefore a painful cry that sounds like, “It’s all your fault”, but which, when decoded, really means, “I have just made myself  very unhappy!”

Arguing: Trying to prove we are right, or attempting to make others right, is usually both a tense and grumpy affair. Neither side is happy in the process, and even if it seems one side has won, any happiness is short lived until the next opportunity to ‘be right’ is craved for and invoked! To argue is to tell the world that we prefer misery to merriment!

Competing: Most of us have assimilated the belief that competition is good, fun and even joyful. But a glance at the faces of long distance runners, tennis players will show that 99% of the game is played in a state of abject suffering. Occasionally, in the middle of the game or the match, someone will let a little joy slip out, but it doesn’t last long. Competition contains fear by definition, which along with anger, are the sworn enemies of happiness.

Controlling: Attempting to make others dance to our tune is a demonstration of the belief that others, and not we, are responsible for our happiness. If the truth were realized and lived i.e. that we are each responsible for our own happiness, the world would be a very different planet on which to live.

These 7 of many habits block the light of sun of happiness from shining through our life. Each habit is embedded in one culture or another and has become acceptable though social collusion, thereby sustaining unhappiness and passing it on to the next generation.

Action: Identify your habits that cause unhappiness, rate them, shed them, find their positive equivalents and imbibe as your habits.

By Mike George 

WHAT CAN SCHOOL TEACHERS DO TO MINIMIZE & CONTROL BULLYING IN SCHOOLS

Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively to impose domination over others. The behaviour is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception, by the bully or by others, of an imbalance of social or physical power. Behaviours used to assert such domination can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion, and such acts may be directed repeatedly towards particular targets. Justifications and rationalizations for such behaviour sometimes include differences of class, race, religion, gender, sexuality, appearance, behaviour, or ability. If bullying is done by a group, it is called mobbing. The target of bullying is sometimes referred to as a victim .

Bullying is also a form of violence common among children. Bullying can be found in schools, neighborhoods, and homes .Bullying is frequently misunderstood by adults as an unavoidable part of growing up and, as a result, often occurs in the presence of adults who fail to do anything about it. The focus of this article is about bullying at school and what can be done about it. Bullying affects a school and students in many ways. Bullying has a negative effect on the social environment of a school and creates an atmosphere of fear among students. Bullying also reduces students’ abilities to learn. A child who bullies is also more likely to engage in other negative behavior .More than 26 percent of  Indian school children said that they had been bullied by other students during a school term.  Researchers found that bullying occurred most frequently in sixth through eighth grades, with little variation between urban, suburban, town, and rural areas. Boys were both more likely to bully others and more likely to be victims of bullying than were girls. In addition, males were more likely to say they had been bullied physically while females more frequently said they were bullied verbally and psychologically .

So what can SCHOOL STAFF  do?

STRATEGIES FOR TEACHERS

Up to half of today’s children are victims of school bullying. Parents, educators, and students alike must work together to help stop bullying in their classrooms, playgrounds, and schools. The following strategies can help teachers and administrators to combat bullying in their schools.

Plan and Make Consequences VERY Clear

 An effective strategy for schools to reduce bullying is to have a policy outlining how teachers and school staff address the issue of bullying in the classroom and how incidents are dealt with after they have happened. All students need to be aware of the consequences of bullying.

Safeguard and Protect Student Honesty

Students feel safe reporting bullying when teachers, administrators, and other school personnel respect the anonymity of the victim or reporting students.

Create a clear Bullying Policy and Vision

An effective strategy to reduce bullying is to create a school-wide policy that defines bullying, outlines how teachers and school staff should address the issue of bullying in the classroom, and delineates how incidents are to be dealt with after they occur. All students need to be aware of the consequences of bullying. The school policy must clearly define all forms of bullying behaviour. Bullying behaviour can be classified under four main headings: Physical Bullying, Verbal Bullying, Relational Bullying, and Sexual Harassment .

 Many bullies try to pass off acts of aggression as roughhousing between friends, or just having fun. However, there is a difference between play and bullying. An episode of bullying has three identifying characteristics:  A power difference between the individual being bullied and the bully. A negative intent on the part of the bully to hurt, embarrass or humiliate the other. Repeated behaviour with others, with the same person or with the same person over time.

Inclusion and Discussion

Involve all members of a school community including pupils, parents, teachers, and non-teaching staff in the formation of the bullying policy. Provide a range of opportunities for pupils to talk about bullying.

Adopt effective strategies

Effective strategies MUST include No-blame approach: A step-by-step technique that allows early intervention because it does not require that anyone is proved to be at fault. A group of young people, which includes bystanders as well as possible bullies, is made aware of a victim’s distress and is asked to suggest solutions. This approach is particularly useful in dealing with group bullying and name-calling.

Peer/buddy -support efforts groups of students to take a stand against bullying behavior.

Quality Circle Teams to be made per class

Bring students, teachers, and school professionals to address the issue of bullying, explore the effect of bullying on the school atmosphere, and brainstorm solutions when problems arise.

The Power of Student Body

Mobilize the masses of students who are neither victims nor bullies to take action against bullying.

Students can take action in many different ways:  Refusing to watch bullying, reporting bullying incidents, initiating conflict resolution strategies, using distraction with either the bully or the victim.

Tina Olyai 

Director LAHS

SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS AT GREATER RISK OF BEING BULLIED AT SCHOOL

Bullying involves the repeated harmful and frequent actions toward an individual or a group. It is also involves high intensity and a power-base. It is brought on when someone is perceived to have a weakness, a challenge, or a difference that may serve to both isolate them and to make them a target for harmful acts. Bullying often occurs in front of or includes others, and witnesses usually the fellow students , can play an important role in increasing or decreasing bullying, if they choose.

It is not unusual to hear stories about students with and without hidden disabilities of being bullied.

 Stories about bullying have captured media attention as children attempt to cope with being bullied and as families attempt to adjust to losing a loved one to suicide motivated by being bullied. The reality in today’s school setting is that students with special needs are bullied more often than students without disabilities. Regardless of the outcome associated with bullying and whether the student has a disability or not, bullying is a serious and systemic problem that must be addressed in schools all over the world.

There are various forms of bullying, including verbal, physical, emotional, and the deadly cyber virus, which is growing area for bullying in which Facebook, Email, Twitter, and other forms of social media are used to spread unkind and often untruthful information about students. While social networking can be a great resource to connect people; it can and has been used in a harmful manner to ostracize and exclude others.

The impact of bullying can be significant and can include lowered self-esteem, heightened anxiety, depression, fear, refusal to attend school, isolation, suicidal ideation, and suicide. Sometimes the signs are apparent, and at other times, individuals try to mask or hide their reaction to the bullying. Involved professionals and family members may notice decreases in grades, an inability of the child to concentrate, a loss of interest in academic skills, school avoidance and higher rates of absenteeism, and ultimately the desire to leave school . 

Families and school staff  should be aware of behaviour changes that may indicate a student is being bullied. For example, if a child or adolescent refuses to go to school, it may be an indicator that she or he is being bullied and does not feel safe at school or trust those that are hired to protect them.

For students with special needs , bullying may be difficult to detect and understand. Because of theory of mind challenges and social skill deficits, these students become more vulnerable targets for bullying. Theory of mind differences result in difficulties grasping the intentions of others and understanding what others are really feeling and thinking. In terms of social skills, individuals with disabilities have difficulty reading nonverbal cues, including body language and the facial expressions of others. In addition, they may take comments literally instead of understanding the underlying and perhaps unkind message. Many may have difficulty detecting the difference between teasing and bullying.

In addition to the emotional and social toll on students and their families, bullying is becoming a growing area for litigation. Schools must seriously investigate any complaints of bullying made by parents or students. While bullying often impacts individual students, programs must be designed schools. Their  anti-bullying programs should be conducted that focus broadly on teaching tolerance and understanding, and creating a safe school environment, overall. 

Current research clearly shows that proactively providing strategies and supports within the context of the school culture can decrease or minimize the need to reactively respond to incidents. 

We Should Create a school-wide no-bullying policy that clearly describes the various forms of bullying, outlines safeguard procedures to be followed when bullying occurs, and articulates consequences. This policy should be shared with parents, and parents should be encouraged to discuss the policy with their children, with or without special needs .

Establish rules and post these throughout school. Rules should not be stated simply in negative terms (telling students what not to do), but should tell students how they are to act. Often times, rules are stated using abstract terms, such as, “Respect Others.” Be tangible and measurable, in order help students understand what respect does or does not look like.

Teach what respectful behaviour looks like, teach how to be respectful, and teach others how to respond to behaviour that is not respectful. Again, the key here is, to establish a district-wide Anti bullying team or outside provider that is objective in his or her evaluation, so that it can be EVALUATED and assessed quarterly.

Highlight and reward students who have exhibited acceptance toward classmates. Staff should acknowledge random act of kindness by posting notices in central locations. Staff can also distribute reward cards to students when they notice students treating classmates in a positive fashion.

As a school, identify social skills that are important to focus on. For example, many students lack problem-solving, negotiation, anger management, and conflict resolution skills. 

Choose a social skill of the month. Rehearse with students and continually coach throughout the month. All school staff should also remember to be a positive role model for these social skills.

Hold regular meetings in which bullying is discussed.

Allow students to provide examples and discuss how it felt to be bullied. Make sure students know the consequences for bullying. At the same time, make sure they also understand the importance of establishing positive relationships.

 If there are times or areas of the school where bullying is more likely to occur, develop a staff safety plan for adult supervision.

If recess, during change of periods , bus rides, or certain classes are more problematic, work with staff in those areas to identify the signs of bullying. Often times, students are very discrete and bullying may be hard to detect.  Work with staff on strategies and a plan of action.

If unstructured times of the day are more problematic, it may mean that more staffing is required during those times. Create information about cyber bullying that can be sent home to family members and given to students. Students need to understand that technology allows us to maintain a permanent record. It may be necessary to establish rules for the use of personal technology in the school.

Bullies seek power and attention from bystanders. Empower peers to take action to stop bullying events by teaching them how to seek help, distract a bully, and advocate on behalf of the target of a bully. Layout a process they can follow if bullying escalates.  Make sure bystanders feel safe reporting students and that confidentiality is respected.

For specific students with special needs who are potential victims of bullying, I would suggest the following:

Help students clearly discern what bullying is and is not. For some students it will be helpful to explain in concrete terms since this is HOW THEY THINK on what bullying is by providing specific and concrete examples that do and do not depict bullying. Through the use of social narratives, role playing and coaching, individuals can be presented with real life concrete examples of bullying and teasing, and helped in learning the difference. Realize that it is difficult for many with and without disabilities to understand true intentions of others, thus they become afraid and lose trust. However, for students on the spectrum, it is critical that they clearly understand the differences.

When bullying does occur, a safe person or safe place should be identified for students on the with special needs to access quickly. Write out or illustrate procedures that students should follow if they believe they are being bullied or if they are in a situation in which they feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

Provide opportunities for students to practice the procedures at various times. It might be helpful to provide a small procedure card for the student to carry in their bags.  Another key to safety is to create a community of friends around the student. Students have the potential to become greater victims when they are isolated in the student body. 

Making sure they are connected to others through informal or formal means may increase their safety. If the hallway or bus stop is problematic, assign other students to be a hall buddy with the person with disability. The same can be done on the school bus, where bulling is often not reported or documented effectively.

Bullying can heighten child’s anxiety, and cause them to feel unsafe, and thus hinder academic performance. All students, including those with special needs have a right to feel safe, feel good about who they are, and get the BEST possible education our teachers can offer them at school. Each of us has a role in making our school a safe and caring environment that fosters learning and positive social-emotional relationships.

MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO REALIZE WHAT OUTCOME THEY WANT FROM THEIR EDUCATION

It has been my observation that many of my best students became intrinsically motivated to put more effort into their education after they have decided on a career purpose.

 A work or career purpose or mission answers the following question: How do I want my career to benefit others? It is also important to identify who (the population) we want to benefit.

An example of a work purpose statement is, “I want to help those who are sick or injured to heal and rehabilitate.” This statement does not contain a career title, but it provides guidance for exploring a variety of careers that can fulfill this purpose. For example a student with this purpose could explore a variety of careers such as doctor, physical therapist, nurse  nutritionist, athletic trainer, fitness trainer, or inventor of products for persons with disabilities, etc. 

The career that they choose will depend on their capability and willingness to acquire the necessary skills, education, training and credentials. Ideally the career choice will be one that uses their best talents and is one they will enjoy doing.

Do you ever share with students why you chose to work in the field of education? Students need to learn about different careers from adults who work in different career fields and to hear what motivated them to make their career choices.

Here are a few questions you can ask your students so that they can begin a process of self-reflection about their career purpose:

What purpose do you want to accomplish in your career?

What benefits do you want others to receive as a result of the work you do?

What specific populations of people do you want to help?

How do you want to contribute and make a positive difference for others?

If you were wealthy and chose to work what would you do?

What problem or need in the world would you most like to fill or solve?

If you knew you could not fail what type of work would you do?

What are some natural talents you would like to develop and use in a career to fulfil your work purpose?

When we expect students who lack self-knowledge and a work purpose to choose a major and career, we are putting the cart before the horse. Identifying a purpose first will guide students into better career choices. If we help students to determine an appropriate career goal then they will also have a purpose for pursuing a good education.

TRIPLE FILTER TEST

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute", Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right", Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No,"the man said, "Actually I just heard about it and ..."

"All right", said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary."

"So", Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well", concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"