How to Help a Student Suffering from Burnout
Students may suffer as a result of studying and exams. Every student can sense the stress in the air, especially around exam season. Students are particularly vulnerable to burnout during this crucial period, which could ruin years of work and present a serious risk of mental collapse. We have stressed that if students work too hard and push past their mental and physical limits, burnout may cause them to lose their motivation to learn and willingness to study, even though burnout can affect any student.
Table of Contents
How can tutors help students suffering from burnout?
Burnout really has a negative connotation for students, and as tutors and parents, you may be wondering how you can help a student who is burned out or is showing signs of burnout. In this article, we’ll be tackling more of the ways to help a student who is suffering from burnout and may not be able to perform their very best, may it be with their exams or their revisions.
1. Check on their mental health
Without a healthy mental state, no amount of preparation will be effective. Your student’s or child’s mental well-being should be a top priority. If they are suffering from too much stress because of too much schoolwork and exams, their mental health may take the brunt of the stress they are experiencing. This can affect them greatly, even resulting in mental illnesses like depression or anxiety, which can also prevent them from studying well for their exams and getting the grade they deserve.
Maintain a close relationship with your student or child so they feel comfortable approaching you for anything, whether it be assistance with their school work or sharing how they feel about certain topics. Make it a point to ask them how they are feeling or how they are coping with their activities in school. Sometimes, children may get embarrassed to share how they actually feel, so getting them to trust you enough to share it with you would be a big help in the process of helping them. Additionally, make sure that they are staying healthy physically, as it can also affect their mental well-being.
If you are a tutor and have direct contact with your students, it would be excellent to occasionally send them encouraging words to motivate them to keep going. Or you can start each session with them with positive affirmations or meditations to help calm their nerves. Parents can also show their support by doing the same thing.
2. Work with them in a gentle way
It is generally a good idea for you to tone down during this crucial time if you often adopt a strict teaching style with your student or child. It is already stressful enough for them in school, where they have their classes; the last thing they need is additional stress coming from their parents and tutors. It will only make them feel worse and can also be demotivating.
Be understanding of them and give them room to “breathe” if they appear to be working less efficiently than usual, and tell you that it’s because they have too much on hand. Instead of giving them more assignments than they can handle, tutors should assist students in time management by making the most of their sessions with them. They already have too much on their plate, and additional work could be the tipping point for them. Do not wait until this happens. Even better would be if you could give them snacks or drinks to keep them energized and decrease stress during your lessons. Additionally known to inspire students are study bundles that include necessary materials for exams. This could also help in case the student misses something they need during exams, like an extra pen.
3. Help them envision the fruits of their labor
We frequently lose sight of the goal we are even pursuing because we are so focused on finishing our race. Help students to remain focused and remember their goals in the first place, especially when they are showing signs of demotivation. Reminding them that they will soon be able to enjoy the rewards of their labor is a smart idea.
To remind them that the end is drawing nearer and nearer, you can think about hanging a whiteboard and updating the countdown to their big days. As such, you can ask them to put up their goal in words so they can see it always. This will prompt them to remember why they are even working so hard in learning and studying for their exams.
4. Encourage them to do self-testing
Stressed-out students may resort to “cheating” themselves and tend to use answer keys or copy word for word from textbooks in an effort to get a sense of security. They should, however, avoid adopting the simple route because it just fosters unhealthy reliance. Testing has been shown to be more successful than pure memorization in helping people remember information. Students who learn by trial and error are more likely to remember their errors and understand where to close the gap. Allowing themselves to put up sincere efforts enables students to assess where they stand and advance more quickly, which, in turn, can gradually reduce their stress.
5. Give study tips and advice
When under stress, students may feel disoriented and lost. It may be more beneficial than you think to impart some of the strategies you learned as a student yourself. Accordingly, since they are studying for their exams and time is of the essence, you can also share time management techniques that worked well for you that they can also try for themselves.
Encourage children to produce useful notes rather than focusing on creating notes that are visually appealing or practicing their handwriting. They can learn how to create wholesome routines from you as well. It’s also important to remind them that all work and no play can be a recipe for successful burnout and possible failure. To avoid exhausting themselves, it is even more crucial that students schedule time for rest, exercise, hobbies, and proper sleep, given how near their exams are.
Conclusion
Being at the point of burnout is particularly risky since it could negate all of the efforts made by the student, their tutor, and their parents. As a response, we must exercise extreme caution to make sure that students avoid burnout. These pointers are intended to assist your student or child reach their full potential, and we hope they have served a purpose.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
