Category: Student Development

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Student Burnout | How Academic Pressure Causes High-Level Anxiety

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

Parents Beware: “If You Are Not Ahead, You Are Behind” Is Not a Good Mental Health Strategy

When it comes to high school, nowadays, students struggle to cope with their daily schedule. Recently, I had a parent orientation meeting at the start of a new school term. One of my student’s parents shares that her kid has fallen behind on other assigned projects due to her pending physics assignments. Although she has given up her summer holidays to finish the pending class tasks, she still lagged behind. All this havoc in her academic life made her less engaged with family and friends. She is not getting her timely sleep and even having anxiety attacks over small matters. However, her parents are still adamant that if they set her up extra home tuitions for physics in the evening, she might be able to compete with the class flow. Unfortunately, this kind of situation is becoming more and more common nowadays, and students feel less motivated than usual and more exhausted and irritable due to academic burnout. Continue reading “Student Burnout | How Academic Pressure Causes High-Level Anxiety” →

Self-Disgust And Borderline Personality Disorder Among Teens

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

New Research Highlights Self-Dissatisfaction in Adolescents as A Possible Precursor To BPD

This article is a bit longer than I usually write and share as it contains recent research and its findings. Recently I engaged in a discussion with one of my previous students who is in her second year and doing her graduation in medicine. She shared her career goals with me, and it seems she is doing great. But then her mood suddenly changed. She always shared her aspirations and anxiety with me during her school days as a student. It seems she wanted to share something with me as she keeps expressing dissatisfaction with whatever she is doing. ‘I don’t like how I am or how my life is going…. It’s not what I expect…nobody understands me…… I messed up my life……in fact, I have no life.’ I patiently listened to what she wanted to share. We engaged in a conversation in which I tried to calm her down. After a while, she seemed relaxed, as if she was waiting to empty her heart out to someone. After this meetup, I wonder why a person develops self-dissatisfaction and how it impacts their lives? Continue reading “Self-Disgust And Borderline Personality Disorder Among Teens” →

The Power of Deep Curiosity and The Fear of Asking Questions

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

Questions Are the Fuel to Our Never-ending Search and Enquiry – Then Why Sometimes We Are Afraid of Them and Consider Them Foolish to Ask?

Last week, during a topic discussion on the history of the pandemic, a parent came and sat in my class. I usually allow parents to attend classes to be a part of their kid’s learning journey. A student, after the discussion, asked a question that was too obvious for many, but for me, it was kind of rhetorical. “…Sir, in mediaeval times people do cover up their faces then what makes the virus spread so fast?” Although we have discussed in the start what makes the virus spread so fast by having the present world example of covid 19 and its spread in 2020. However, what puzzled me was that the parent suddenly has a sarcastic smile that every student has witnessed, including the one who asked the question. I let students answer this question collaboratively. After the class, the parent thanked me for allowing her to sit and observe the class. Continue reading “The Power of Deep Curiosity and The Fear of Asking Questions” →

How Does Listening Music Benefit Your Classroom and Student Engagement?

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

Chill Realms – The Latest Addition to My Readables That Helps Teachers to Boost Student Engagement and Participation During the Lessons

One of the post-covid effects on students these days is that they become too busy in their daily hybrid learning schedules that they hardly get any time to relax or even do something that reduces their exam anxiety. Studies suggest that to minimise stress during studies, one needs to engage in an activity that helps concentrate on their task and listening to music is one such activity. Researchers believe that exposure to music can improve classroom learning and increase a positive classroom atmosphere. I realised the importance of listening to music during my extended summer vacation. Continue reading “How Does Listening Music Benefit Your Classroom and Student Engagement?” →

What Time Is Right for Us to Step Outside Our Comfort Zone?

Posted on by Ahmad Amirali

How Would I Know That My Purpose, Timings and Motifs Are Right for The Choice That I Have Made for Myself?

Long before the evolution of computers and mobile gadgets in my life, books were the only source of imagination to me, and the very first book that I picked to read was J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. There are several life lessons that Tolkien introduces in this book series like friendship, empathy, emotions, care, courage and responsibility. However, one of such lessons that I always found in this series through which I can resonate with myself and my classroom is the importance of ‘stepping out from our comfort zone’. In LORs, there are characters about happy people named hobbits who live peaceful lives in the Shire. The main character Frodo Baggins is one of them, and he loves the comfort of his routine. He bases his entire life around that comfort zone. However, Frodo doesn’t know that he is about to embark on a journey that changes everything in his life, for which he might’ve not been ready at first. Continue reading “What Time Is Right for Us to Step Outside Our Comfort Zone?” →