Pressure v. Performance

A month or so back I came across an article in the news about how kindergarteners are getting more and more stressed in the US. The article found that the pressure to perform academically has been growing on even kids this young, and kids are getting labeled as not good enough because they are being expected to perform tasks they aren’t developmentally ready for.

Two weeks ago articles came out on how national math test scores have not been improving for most states in fourth grade and barely moving in eight grade despite the focus schools and teachers have been placing on preparing for those tests.

I put those findings together and came up with something I’ve known for awhile now: putting more pressure on a kid, or on yourself, to succeed does not lead to better performance. In fact, it usually leads to a decrease in performance if it is too much. A person’s focus and energy go into dealing with the pressure, leaving them with less attention and energy to learn the subject

If you find yourself all wound up in your stress, try using my Quick Start Guide to tapping to bring that stress down so you can actually focus.