A Short Tale of Two Schools

Which paragraph best describes your school?

________ schools had been very rigorous but had provided little outlet for individualism.  All the children had the same exact books and assignments.  Children were on the same schedule, no matter what.  Those who did well in their education were not rewarded or accelerated.  Children who struggled were not accommodated.  They had been taught to wait for someone else to tell them what to do, when, and how much effort to put in.

OR

In _______ schools children could play to their strengths and pursue their own interests, and their education was somewhat customized according to their abilities.  Kids had all sorts of ways to develop the capacity to act independently, to make one's own free choices, and to make decisions quickly - and not just through academic performance.




At first read, you make think these describe two very different present-day schools - at least I did when I read first came across this.   Actually, the first paragraph described schools in former East Germany and the second paragraph was used to describe schools in former West Germany. 

Researchers have explained that the students in East German schools displayed low confidence levels, gave up easily, and were more reliant on others' leadership.

On the other hand, the schools in West Germany created students who were self-starters - had personal initiative.  These students developed the capacity to act independently and became competitors and innovators.

STRESS and PERFORMANCE

I recently finished reading, Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.  

A section of the book was devoted toward investigating the relationship between anxiety and performance. Conventional wisdom tells us that positive feelings should lead to a strong performance (athletic, social, academic, etc) and negative feelings, such as anxiety and anger, leads to making mistakes.  However the research does not necessarily support this.  

Over thirty years ago, Dr. Yuri Hanin proposed a theory in which he claims we each have our own Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning in relation to athletic endeavors.  Recent studies have confirmed that this is true in nonathletic contexts as well – from coping with stage fright to military operations to taking a test in a classroom.

The basic idea is that we each have our own individual arousal (stress) level that should be met in order for us to achieve optimum functioning. For example, if I go into an interview for a new job and my arousal level is too low I may not be on top of my game and perform poorly.  On the other hand, if my arousal level is too high I may freeze up and perform poorly.  It needs to be the right amount for me.

This section in the book concludes that anxiety in itself is not always bad.  The appraisal we give it and our coping strategies are just as important to channeling it into optimum performance.

 

So the next time you take on a new endeavor, consider the stress load that will accompany it.  Will it cause you to be at or above your zone of optimum functioning?  How will you appraise the new stressors?  Do you have coping strategies in place to maintain an optimum functioning?

Hanin, Yuri L., “Performance Related Emotional States In Sport: A Qualitative Analysis,” Qualitative Research, vol. 4(1), art. 5 (2003)

Jamieson, Jeremy P., Wendy Berry Mendes, Erick Blackstock, & Tori Schmader, “Turning the Knots in Your Stomach into Bows: Reappraising Arousal Improves Performance on the GRE,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 46(1), pp.208-212 (2010).