It's easy to dismiss young people's "stress" over high-school exams. Try being an adult with bills to pay and mouths to feed, some may say.
With the benefit of life experience, most of us can look back and know NCEA exams (or School Certificate, Sixth Form Certificate and Bursary, dependingon your age) are not the be-all and end-all. That it won't be the end of the world if you don't do as well as you or others may have hoped. That there will be untold other opportunities to be successful in life, or to pursue the career or future you want. And that inevitably there will be far more stressful experiences and times ahead of you.
All true. But probably a tad patronising and not all that helpful to those currently going through it.
For many of our young people, NCEA exams represent one of the first times in their lives where they are placed in a pressured situation. Where the outcome of a few hours in an exam hall can potentially dictate the path their life takes. Throw in expectations, competition and pressure - perceived or real - from those around them and it's understandable that youth helplines and school counsellors are seeing an increase in students needing help with stress management at the moment.
There's nothing wrong with parents and schools having high expectations of their teenagers. It would be wrong if they didn't. Just as long as those expectations don't become unrealistic or crushing.
Good luck to all our students for the remainder of their exams. Hang in there, it's almost over. -Katie Holland is deputy editor of sister paper the Rotorua Daily Post.
