A historical educational analysis of stress in the pedagogic situation

Abstract

A modem "disease", stress is a universal and eternal problem in the pedagogic situation, where the child becomes an aduh, under adult supervision. Stress - a feeling of pressure or strain - is a problem for contemporary South African children, who automatically respond to stressors (causes of stress), in the same way as children of the past, since human beings have not changed psychobiologically over the millennia. Our bodies and minds should return to a calm state, after our initial stress reaction, but we often remain under stress, which results in emotional/ physical symptoms of distress. Yet history has shown that children can be helped to handle stress, making it a stimulus for growth. Although past societies were not directly conscious of the concept of stress, they taught coping mechanisms to their children. Some of these are generally valid, and provide us with solutions to the problem of stress in the pedagogic situation.

Die modeme "siekte", stres, is eintlik 'n universele en altyddurende probleem in die pedagogiese situasie - die· situasie waar die kind besig is om onder volwasse begeleiding 'n volwassene te word. Stres - 'n gevoel van druk en oorspanning - is 'n probleem vir hedendaagse Suid-Afrikaanse kinders wat maar, net soos die kinders in die verlede, outomaties reageer op "stressors" (faktore wat stres veroorsaak). Die afgelope millenniums het immers bewys dat die mens nie psigobiologies verander het nie. Ons liggaam en gees behoort mstig te word na 'n aanvanklike stres reaksie. Die probleem is dat ons meestal onder stres bly leef met emosionele/ psigiese simptome van angs as die resultaat daarvan. Tog het die geskiedenis bewys dat kinders gehe]p kan word om stres te hanteer en dit eerder as 'n stimulus vir ontwikkeling te benut. Ten spyte van die feit dat samelewings in die verlede nie so bewus was van die konsep van stres nie, het hulle tog sekere tegnieke aan hulle kinders oorgedra om hulle te he]p om hulle stres te hanteer. Sommige van hierdie tegnieke is algemeen geldig en voorsien ons dus van oplossings vir die probleem van stres in die pedagogiese situasie.