by Dr. Paul Hundal

BOOK REVIEW

Under Pressure:

Confronting the epidemic of stress and anxiety in girls by Lisa Damour. (2019). New York: Ballantine

Damour is a clinical psychologist and her book is rightfully praised for blending ‘research analysis, psychological insight, and stories of girls …. into a compelling narrative about what’s right about our daughters’. Covering a range of topics from coming to terms with stress and anxiety, dealing with peer pressure and ways in which to overcome cultural pressures, it is an insightful read for both tutors and heads of house, as it offers pastoral teams clear guidance to support their coaching and mentoring of their tutees. It is written in a way which very much supports non-directive guidance of tutees to find their own solutions to issues which lead to stress and anxiety.

Damour describes stress and anxiety as ‘fraternal twins'. They are alike, as both are psychologically uncomfortable with stress usually referring to the feeling of emotional or mental strain or tension whilst anxiety usually refers to the feeling of fear, dread or panic. However, in real life, stress and anxiety are often tightly coupled together (e.g. a student who feels stressed by their school workload may come to feel anxious about getting their assignments done). A challenge we all face is that anxiety (and stress) have served us well, from an evolutionary perspective, and so it is deeply ingrained in the human psyche – for how else could primitive humans survive the dangers of their environment without their anxiety and stress antennae? However, chronic anxiety and stress affects deep thinking as a combination of stress hormones and the amygdala (the emotional centre of the brain) reduces the brain’s executive function which is principally associated with prefrontal cortex processing.

The chapter entitled ‘Girls at School’ discussed the ‘strength-training model of progressive overload’ as a framework to help girls recognise that the anxiety and stress associated with academic pressures can lead to personal growth, as all growth comes with a degree of discomfort and, moreover, increasing discomfort gradually leads to increased mental strength. Girls who demonstrated a ‘stress-builds-strength mindset’ were able to deal better with the increasing challenges of academic pressures from Year 9 to 13. Moreover, girls who were coached to recognise the harmful effects of academic perfectionism were much better at mentally coping with our educational high stakes system of coursework and examinations. The chapter, in keeping with the philosophy of the book, examined various educational contexts coupling evidence-based studies from both cognitive and social psychology with practical, first-hand case studies.

The book will not only equip pastoral teams with the knowledge, understanding and wisdom required to support their tutees but will also offer reassurance that pastoral staff can also play a role in improving student wellbeing despite their lack of formal counselling training. A phrase which I find myself using most often is the notion that anxiety happens when we overestimate how bad something is going to be and underestimate our ability to deal with it. It is certainly worth a read.

BIO Dr. Paul Hundal has been teaching at Berkhamsted for 20 years and has a keen interest in evidence-informed practice to enhance teaching, student learning, and pastoral coaching.

BOOK REVIEW

Range:

How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. (2019). London: Macmillan.

As Art teachers, we are familiar with following a non-linear path. Students are encouraged to explore a diverse range of media, materials and processes. Higher grades are awarded to those who take creative risks and explore as wide a range of ideas as possible. A strict syllabus, specification, or prescriptive curriculum is somewhat alien to an Art teacher. Colleagues teaching academic subjects might be glancing sideways with envy at the freedom that this allows. And, for the most part, they are probably right to, but this freedom is not without its challenges. In many ways a textbook, specification or syllabus provides a reassuring structure for both student and teacher. We all know where we stand, what we need to learn/teach, and where to start. There is no textbook for Art and if you forgive the pun, we begin with a blank canvas. This lack of structure (we do plan our lessons by the way!) can be a challenge for some students. In another subjects students might arrive with a clearer understanding of what it is they will be doing that day. In a GCSE or A-level lesson in Art they could potentially arrive with no idea of what they will be doing that day and leave with multiple directions in which to take a project. Students are encouraged to embrace the idea of the unexpected and the open ended. So, in some sense we are trying to get our students to embrace ‘generalism’, to explore as wide range of skills and ideas as possible.

When discussing his 2020 book Range in the Outside Magazine podcast, David Epstein opens by discussing the now iconic clip of a 2-year-old Tiger Woods out-putting Bob Hope on The Mike Douglas Chat Show. Woods has been – to downplay things – very successful, but Epstein argues this is perhaps an exception rather than the norm. Epstein offers the alternative path taken by tennis great (GOAT?) Rodger Federer, who in contrast to Woods, tried his hand at a range of sports from rugby, skiing and football to, of course, tennis. He puts forward the idea of generalism as a far healthier approach to learning. The breadth and range of our experiences are allowing us to perform to a higher level.

Epstein argues that life is not linear: we are relentlessly confronted with the unexpected. If our skill set is overly specialised and too narrow in focus, we are left unable to react successfully. This is because our pool of knowledge and experience is too small to draw upon. He goes on to suggest