Schoolkids get 'buddies' to beat stress

Be it the burden of scoring high marks or fitting in with their peers, stress levels are on the rise among schoolchildren, say principals.

To help them cope with this stress and curb bullying, many city schools have started mentorship programmes or buddy system. This system involves older students tutoring and counselling their juniors.

Schools have adopted the mentor programme in different ways to help students beat academic and non-academic stress.

“Mentor programmes help build a responsible attitude among the older students. It also helps create stronger social bonds among the students and reduces bullying instances,” said principal Meera Isaacs, Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort.

In this school, 22 students from class 12 have recently started mentoring their juniors during free classes or once a day. They have been specially trained by counsellors to help their juniors understand teenage problems.

“Seniors talking to the students is much more effective than teachers talking to them. Middle-school students look up to their seniors and can connect better with them. They find it more comfortable to confide in them than their teachers,”  Isaacs added.

Podar International School in Santacruz has started a similar system to help new students.

“We have many students from Australia, Hong Kong, the UK and the US who have trouble adjusting. This year, we have formed a team of students and teachers that will mentor such students. They will always be by their side and be their ‘buddies’.  We have also extended the programme for regular students who find it difficult to socialise,” said Vandana Lulla, director of the school.

But, Priyanka Rajani, principal of Vidyanidhi school in Juhu, believes that class 10 students are most vulnerable to stress and so the school started mentorship for them.  “We have assigned a group of students to the teacher they share a rapport with. The teachers spend time with them after school. Once the students are comfortable with the teacher they open up and confide their fears and problems,” she said.