DESCRIPTORS

The paper examines the effects of stress on children and considers ways in which teachers can help them cope. Three major sources of stress are identified: (1) normal developmental stress, such as pressure for academic success; (2) endemic social stress, resulting from such social trends as rising divorce rates and the general erosion of the family; and (3) stressful life events, including family moves and learning problems in school. The effects of parents ' responses to the increased instability in children's lives are weighed, particularly parental ambivalence and tentativeness toward their children. Teachers are advised to create low-stress environments in their classrooms and to impose order, structure, and predictability in the class routine. Teachers also need to help children come to terms with academic demands and the stress associated with them. (CL) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document