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Performance pressure and career catches up with students early. Sarika suggests solutions and shares a recipe of butter cookies as stress buster, exclusively for Different Truths.
Parent’s expectations and academic pressure raises a pertinent question, how much to expect from children?
Students spend most of their time in classrooms, in that case, teachers can play a vital role in mitigating the stress affecting them.
In our society, we pay high regard to academic excellence. Those who fail to reach the expectations often face harsh criticism. It creates huge doubts about their self-confidence and intelligence.
In a world where cut-throat competition is a regular phenomenon, students are always pushed to the edge by their parents/ guardians for a bright future. Imposing enormous pressure on them, not only blocks their growth and learning but also increases anxiety and stress.
In a world where cut-throat competition is a regular phenomenon, students are always pushed to the edge by their parents/ guardians for a bright future.
Educational institutions also do their bit, instead of providing their growth and learning, they only focus on exams and performances in the test, which leads to pushing them vulnerable to severe depression and at times suicidal tendencies.
Every parent is worried about the future of their kids. Our education system is like that; it focuses on the best of the learners. It also raises the bar for the institute. Even primary kids too face interviews before joining their first school. Parents are bound to push their kids for the best results to fit in the world.
Academic excellence and success are always measured through performance.
Academic excellence and success are always measured through performance. It is not the end, today’s students are also expected to excel in other fields like sports, music, arts and what not…! It is evident that two-thirds of the students faced pressure from their parents to perform better academically. Constant academic stress takes a toll on the mental health of the students.
What can the teachers’ community do to limit stress among students?
… teachers can play a vital role in mitigating the stress affecting them.
As students spend a good amount of time in school, teachers can play a vital role in mitigating the stress affecting them.
Teachers” Role
A few steps are shared below:
- · Teachers’ communities can educate the students about the importance of time management, which might help the learners to reduce stress. Teachers should be open to flexible due dates to submit the assignments and keep motivating the students.
- · Teachers must acknowledge the efforts of the students, and never ever show any signs of discouragement.
- · Teachers must add laughter and humor to the classroom activities.
- · Teachers can also share their own childhood stories, failures, and mistakes — so that learners will know it is ok to make mistakes but must be ready to change them.
- · Teachers must create a good bond between teachers and students.
- · The lesson plan should be prepared in such a way that will suit all ranges of learners- visual, kinesthetic, auditory, reading and writing.
Parents’ Role
What should be the role of parents?
- · Parents are equally responsible for reducing the stress among the students
- · Parents must be involved in their children’s life and instigate positive thinking and good lifestyle habits-like good eating, and sleeping on time, which considerably reduces stress.
- · Parents must accept their own kids’ imperfections or mistakes. They must understand every child is different, so do their potentialities.
- · Parents must talk to their kids and be open to any kind of discussion.
In this complicated world, where our kids are facing several problems every day, the teachers’ fraternity must work with the parents as teamwork and try to reduce the burdens on the youngsters.
As I am discussing so much about students, hence sharing one of the butter cookies recipes, which most of the students enjoy, and is my son’s favourite too.
Ingredients
- • 230 g butter at room temperature
- • 320 g flour
- • 1 tbsp. salt fine
- • 1 tbsp. of vanilla extract
- • 100 g sugar granulated
Method
Slice the butter into cubes and place them in a mixer, with the salt, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.
Add all until they blend, into a cream.
Now, sift the flour, add it to the mixture, and continue to mix until it has a crumbly texture.
Place the dough on a lightly floured dusted board.
Remember, the dough will be very soft. Combine it, to make it smooth.
At this point, use your hands to flatten it.
Cover it with a plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator, for at around half an hour.
Later, take the mixture from the fridge and cut it with a knife into four cylinder shapes of around 3 cm diameter, then cover the rolls using plastic wrap and place them in the fridge again for a couple of hours.
After a couple of hours, place each cylinder in granulated sugar, keeping the surface even
Divide the cylinders into discs of 2 cm thickness, then place the cookies on baking paper over a tray.
Bake them in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (392 F) for about 15 to 20 minutes or until it turns lightly browned.
Take them out from the oven, and immediately place them on a rack, so that they keep the texture intact.
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Photos by the author
