Kids Health Notes

Will a homework-free weekend take out school-related stress?

by Grace on November 1st, 2007

A principal in one of Boston’s affluent, uber-achieving schools is doing something radical to help his S.O.S. or stressed-out-students -

Less homework, more yoga.

Paul Richards, principal of Needham High School, is taking on a cultural change in his school to get students coping with school-related stress. He has stopped publishing the honor roll in the local newspaper, asked his teachers to schedule homework-free weekends and holidays, and requires all seniors to attend yoga classes.

“One of our big goals is to try to help students become more resilient,” Mr. Richards said. He wants to help students learn to cope better with the inevitable setbacks, he said, “so they don’t fall apart if they get a B-minus.”

Many students were so stressed out about grades and test scores — and so busy building résumés to get into the small number of brand-name colleges they equated with success — that, he said, they could not fully engage with school.

What are some school-related stresses? I can think of hours worth of homeworks every night, a culture of over-achievement, competition over college admissions, after-school activities and sport, even peer pressure to belong.

We’ll have to wait and see how successful the Needham School program is. Stress is always going to be part of life, and when channeled correctly, definitely helps in preparing a student for life outside of high school. I think the key is in finding the balance to the right kind and amount of stress our school children can deal with.

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Tags: school, stress, needham high school, homework, yoga, health, education

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POSTED IN: Behavior and Emotional Health, Learning and Play, Mental Health, School Health and Safety