Beating exam stress: CBSE shows how through film and booklet….Puja Pednekar
With Board examinations less than a month away, most students even the bright ones experience stress.
Advising students to take it easy, the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) has brought out a film, Exam Stress, A Natural Feeling, and released a booklet on tackling it.
The film is being shown in CBSE schools.
We had started this project in 2009 with the film, Smile Your Way Through Exams,after we realised that students were not able to cope with exam stress, said a board official.
This year, we have made a new film and a 76-page booklet. The film educates parents on how they can help their child stay fit and mentally healthy. We advise parents not to pressure their children.
Students can download the booklet and watch a preview of the film on CBSEs website.
The film shows views of various students appearing for the exam, the problems they face preparing for them and how they solve these problems. It also has expert psychologists and psychiatrists giving advice on how to tackle exam stress.
Students suggest different and interesting stress-busting techniques in the film. Its an eye opener for parents as well. One of the interesting tips I found was talking to plants when stressed, said Sangeeta Kumar, whose son studies in Kendriya Vidyalaya in Fort.
The booklet includes tips on how to prevent and manage stress by exercising, sleeping and resting for rejuvenation. It also gives an ideal diet plan that parents can help their children follow such as avoiding tea and coffee, and drinking health drinks and juices.
Priyanka Mathur, student of a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Powai, found the Study Smart section in the booklet helpful.
I have started preparing charts to keep track of my progress. The booklet advises us to make a weekly planner, where we fill in the amount of time for lectures and tutorials, study-related tasks, domestic commitments and leisure and sports, she said.
I have put up this chart on the wall above my study table and just looking at it keeps me calm because I know exactly what lies ahead of me, Mathur added.