The education system of the United States, Canada, and several other countries use the term K12 for pre-college grades. K12 education covers kindergarten and 1st to 12th grade. The K12 curriculum covers courses studied in schools and online school programs adjusted for each grade level. The standard curriculum learning activities are usually complemented with specific objectives created to meet a certain level of difficulty.
The start of the school year 2021-2022 brought to light the problem with students’ back-to-school mental health symptoms. After the first wave of welcome-back excitement, schools were overwhelmed with the number of cases related to various behavioral problems. According to teachers, child psychologists, and care workers, the most common issues were anxiety, elevated stress levels, and frequent inability to fulfill the basic school program tasks. The high number of cases was challenging for K12 educators and burdening for the already exhausted healthcare system.
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Current K12 education problems
It’s normal for children to get scared of the unknown. These feelings are sometimes induced by the school environment. Additionally, after the whole year of online class attendance children have to adapt to a differently structured study system. In some cases, the first source of anxiety comes with a stricter homework policy. The stress substantially intensifies when students are expected to write an essay or prepare an oral presentation. As a part of virtual schooling, these forms of teaching seem less challenging for students.
In an attempt to help their children, parents often get equally concerned. As a result, they are unable to solve the issue and defuse the situation. Pediatricians and school psychologists are the first people to consult to learn how to address mental health symptoms. The anxiety caused by the school tasks can be resolved with EduBirdie in Canada and other professional online writing services. Both parents and children can relax and approach essay writing more calmly once they receive professional help. Learning from examples makes any task, including speech writing, easier and more productive.
How to help K12 student to manage stress
Every student is entitled to have problems. Acknowledging them is the first step of the solution-seeking journey. As education is an important factor in personal and professional life, society and family often put more pressure on children. Often, setting unrealistic goals is the main reason children have anxiety issues. So, finding healthy ways to nurture K12 students’ ambition is among the biggest priorities.
The following signs can help parents identify if a child suffers from back-to-school anxiety:
- Stomach aches
- Sleeping and eating disorders
- Frequent mood swings
- Negative attitude toward homework and school tasks
- Uncontrollable crying
- Inability to focus on school tasks
Based on the estimated level of stress, parents can apply some of these tips to help their children cope with problems.
Positive attitude
A conversation about things they like in school is an effective way parents can use to prepare children for the first day of school. By associating pleasant emotions with school activities students receive encouragement to put their focus on positive experiences instead of anticipating negative ones.
Problem sharing
During the pandemic, children were not always able to share problems with classmates. Reminding them that other kids are also worried about their first day at school can prevent them from feeling isolated by this problem. Another way to ensure they feel comfortable returning to school is to help them reconnect with friends from the classroom.
Parents’ presence
This tip is especially important for the lower grades’ students. As a form of support, parents might consider taking children to school, at least the first day if not the first week. This can boost their confidence and make them feel more prepared to face the unknown.
Balanced life
Addressing sleeping and eating problems soon as they appear prevents their further escalation into more serious health conditions. When combined with regular exercising, playing, and various hobbies it can create a healthy, stress-relieved atmosphere. With structured life habits children become inspired to look at school duties and problems with a positive attitude.   Â
Seeking professional help
Because they should know their children better than anyone, parents often feel obligated to fix the problem by themselves. It’s imperative to seek professional help if things are not improving. These experts have proper education and training to assist and counsel students and parents and give them directions and recommendations for further steps. Although asking for help might not be easy, sometimes this is the only effective way to deal with children’s anxiety problems.Â
Todd VanDuzer
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