Film Focuses on The Dangers of Academic Stress

She’s seen two children already go through the school system, and has another making their way through right now as a junior, and if there’s one thing Robin Schafer has noticed, its that her children and their peers often struggle with issues not addressed by teachers, forums or special television specials.

“I have seen, being a mother of three children, 23, 26 and one who is presently a junior at East Brunswick High School, how academic pressure and stress have increased over the years and the negative effect it’s had on my kids and children’s friends, and I don’t see it addressed in the schools,” said Schafer.

Stress, sleep deprivation, exhaustion and the consequences of them are addressed in a documentary Schafer recently made, titled “Agents.” The 16-minute film focuses on several high school students and recent graduates, and their experiences with academic stress. The film includes teachers and doctors, and presents solutions as well as questions.

“I wanted to help not only my children, but other people,” said Schafer. “I Wanted to make a difference. So, I knew people who knew solutions, students, and thought ‘students listen more to they’re peers than they do to adults.’ ”

Schafer is a Certified Life and Career Coach and president of Masterful Kids who specializes in teaching emotional intelligence strategies to students between 10 and 17 years old. While her film has been accepted to the Queens World Film Festival in NYC for the March 2, 2012 film festival, Schafer also is trying to get school districts to show the piece to students, teachers and educators. She says that while bullying is a serious problem, it often overshadows other issues that affect students.

“Bullying is addressed, because now it’s the law. But if you look at the film, I started off with certain statistics that have been in the Wall Street Journal and Johns Hopkins that show that the leading cause of stress is academics, it’s not bullying. People are being bullied, but the highest cause of stress is academic stress,” said Schafer.

Those statistics include this: “The top three stressors for teens were school work (78%), parents (68%) and romantic relationships (64%), According to the Center for Adolescent Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.”

Another statistic from the movie shows that, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 11% of adolescents have depressive disorder by the age of 18, a quote that appeared in the Wall Street Journal.

In the film, teens discuss their experiences in high school, and talk about how the majority of their school and free time is spent in class, studying, and talking about grades. Some discuss the pressure they get from they’re parents, and the competition they feel from their peers.

“Its gotten worse,” said Schafer about her experiences with her own children. “What my son was learning, my daughters did two years earlier. They’ve accelerated it. It’s a lot more home work. It’s a lot worse than when I went to high school and it’s a lot more competitive to get into college now, so maybe that’s added to the stress.”

Schafer says she isn’t endorsing “no homework,” but wants to bring awareness to the stress students are facing these days. The film also offers some solutions to the pressure, including getting more sleep and exercising.

“I think just like they have a month for breast cancer awareness or bullying awareness, they should have something for a few weeks where they don’t give kids homework, or give a different type of homework. Maybe they focus on a project, something that can help teamwork, or get them to think out of the box,” said Schafer.

Schafer also recommends that students not take part in every activity, but instead find their inner talent in order to cut down on activities. She also recommends finding ways to get enough sleep.

“A lot of these kids are only getting five hours. That has an effect on your learning, you’re more irritable, you get depressed and you didn’t perform as well, so it’s a combination of things,” she said.

For more information on “The Agents,” or to find out how to show the piece, contact Schafer at robinschafer@comcast.net.