Although anxiety is a good sign that something isn’t going right, prolonged anxiety is dangerous and can adversely hinder your capacity to study. If you are dealing with students, it is key that you understand how to spot and help anxious students to overcome their stress.

Read on to identify the causes of anxiety at various levels of study and some tips to help students with anxiety. 

Why does school give me anxiety?

Ranging from tough assignments to social anxiety, there are many reasons why school may trigger your anxiety. The causes of anxiety may vary depending on your financial capabilities, workload, and relationships within the school.

If you notice increased levels of stress and some of the symptoms highlighted in the sections below, we recommend that you gauge your cause of stress and proper mitigation for the issue.

Anxiety in elementary students

Causes

Elementary students often get stressed due to separation anxiety, social anxiety, and test anxiety. Having gotten used to the company of guardians and siblings, the elementary student may feel stressed adapting to an environment without their caretakers. 

Also, making friends with peers may be an issue for some students, therefore, causing social stress. Students in elementary school may also experience a persistent urge to perform exemplary in a bid to make their parents proud. 

The previous failure may worsen test anxiety, making it hard for the student to concentrate on study. 

Signs

Elementary school anxiety may be manifested as prolonged fatigue, headaches, stomach-aches, and change in sleeping habits. You could easily observe a low capacity to pay attention from your toddler and consult them to determine if they are experiencing anxiety.

Solutions

If your child confirms they are suffering anxiety, encourage frequent talks to advise them on various challenges they are experiencing. Also, create a conducive environment for your child and support them in challenging study areas to overcome homework anxiety.

Anxiety in middle school students

Causes

In addition to social anxiety, middle school may experience anxiety due to self-discovery, huge workloads, and various issues that come with puberty. Middle graders may also experience social anxiety in school due to issues such as bullying and time misappropriation.

Signs

These issues may manifest as tantrums, incapacity to complete assignments, drug/alcohol abuse, and in extreme cases, truancy. 

Solution

When helping middle schoolers to overcome their anxiety, prepare a schedule for assignments and revision, overcoming negative results that could inspire test anxiety.

Also, build positive relationships with your kid, enabling them to freely discuss various stressors with you. This will allow you to guide the kid and offer the occasional pick-me-ups to cheer up your adolescent. 

Also, develop a reward system to motivate positive behaviour and to make your child appreciate their capabilities. 

Anxiety in high school students

Causes

High school is an entirely different ballpark with students who have not experienced freedom in lower levels of study. The sheer range of commitments in high school may impair your capacity to study effectively, inspiring test anxiety.

Signs

Anxiety in high school can be expressed through behaviour such as becoming ill more often and struggling with schoolwork. Students may also tend to experience long spells of fatigue, adopting habitual procrastination. 

Solution

Similar to all levels of study, you must build a communication channel to express your disgruntlement. Also, seek help to stay abreast with various responsibilities without risking mental exhaustion. 

Helping students with anxiety in school

So, what can you do to help a student who opens up to you with the common phrase: “school makes me depressed and anxious”? Some of the approaches for overcoming anxiety include:

• Taking time off to relax and recharge before resuming your daily routine.
• Talking to a friend or a professional for guidance on how to overcome various challenges as you adapt to a new environment.
• Chunking projects into manageable portions and schedule to complete your assignments before the deadline.
• Participate in regular physical activity and join a club/ activity that allows you to interact with peers and let off the pressures from the study.
• Develop good sleeping habits.

However, the efficiency and relevance of holiday homework are often a subject of debate for many people. This article will analyze the pros and cons of summer vacation homework and discuss crucial tips for handling your summer holiday homework fast. 

Should students have summer homework?

Your stand on holiday assignments should be based on your analysis of the benefits and downsides that come with homework. For this, we have covered an analysis of various benefits and shortcomings brought about by holiday assignments. 

Pros of summer homework

1. Ensures consistent practice

After experiencing summer learning loss, students may struggle to relate new concepts to what they had previously learned. Homework ensures practice, keeping the content fresh in a learner’s mind, thus, improving their comprehension of advanced topics. 

2. Helps develop time management skills

Students may often require a schedule to balance their studies with holiday plans. This fosters a sense of responsibility in students, helping them to develop time management skills.

3. Guides students to identify and work on their weak areas

When dealing with multiple subjects at school, students can easily gloss over their weaknesses and avoid challenging areas. Homework touches on the ideas within each topic, helping the learner gauge their strength in various topics.

As a result, homework may work to troubleshoot your knowledge gaps, allowing you to seek help to overcome any challenges you were facing within a subject.

4. Reduces screen time

Prying children from the screen can prove a challenging task. However, homework and other chores help keep children occupied, reducing the time spent on the mobile phone and television. 

5. Getting parents involved in a child’s study

When children are doing homework at home, parents may assess their work and identify issues that a teacher might have missed. These include distractions and errors in learning methods that could limit a child’s comprehension. 

Why summer homework is bad

• May cause stress for students

Too much homework may be hard to focus on with jobs and interning among other responsibilities a student is expected to handle over the summer. As such, tutors should give small amounts of homework that allow for a substantial amount of free time for other commitments. 

• May promote a sedentary life

Homework may limit the free time of students, resulting in little interaction with peers as students spend most of their time indoors. 

• Homework is not always effective

Although the concept of homework is solid, many loopholes may limit its effectiveness. For instance, students might delegate their assignments, acing the assignment without necessarily improving their content mastery. 

How to complete holiday homework fast

1. Start early

The available time for your homework may often inspire procrastination until the last minute. For this, students should start as early as possible and spread out their study sessions to avoid mental exhaustion. 

2. Develop a schedule

A schedule is a great tool to track your progress and ensure the timely completion of your assignment. When planning for your assignment, take note of your productive time for study and various commitments in your holiday.

Allocate sessions for your study while leaving room for unexpected changes in your schedule. Also, plan to complete your homework a week before the reporting date to avoid any struggles in the week when you are preparing to report for your next semester. 

3. Seek help where needed

If you experience a challenge with your homework, consult a tutor to troubleshoot your challenge. This will help you to improve your mastery of content and also to observe your deadlines.

4. Find a conducive area for study

Distractions at home are a dime a dozen. These conflicting stimuli may compromise your productivity, impairing your capacity to focus in each session. 

Be keen to establish a study environment free of distractions to master maximum focus and concentration in each session. 

Final take

So, should schools give summer homework? We believe that fairly challenging homework, when assigned in reasonable amounts is beneficial for students. However, teachers should be keen not to overload students and to touch on concepts students have already encountered, promoting further understanding of concepts they intend to build upon in the subsequent semester.