Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart?
This is an intresting article from today's New York Times that discusses both the positive and negative outcomes that stress can cause for kids. It's a bit on the long side so you will need a little bit of time carved out. The articles discusses:
* The genetic concept of 'Worriers' & 'Warriors' and how our bodies deal with dopamine in stressful situations.
* How having students read a short statement before an assessment that says: 'Studies have shown that stress and anxiety actually help people perform better on tests', 'primes' students to perform better.
* How standardized tests lack the side benefits that competition usually brings.
This dovetails nicely with the work that Tough references in his book about the effects of stress and anxiety, and proposed ways to address it.
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I am going to the Learning & the Brain symposium in April and one the lectures I am most looking forward to is "Beyond Smart: How Grit, Curiosity and Character Help Students Succeed and Thrive" by Tough. This article makes a good case for the positive side of competition and stress. Thanks for the post.
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