Why do you think the math book was sad? Because it had a lot of problems.. and so do we at school, said 14-year-old Adwaith Menon, with candor that would set the tone for a talk about stress at school, on Bookosmia’s podcast ‘What’s on my mind’ hosted by adolescents.

Co-host Satvika Suri, a 14 year old from Bangalore put forth the context for the conversation- stress at schools is not to be taken lightly, after all, what youngsters learn in their formative years at school is crucial for the way their future shapes up. And one person who knows how important early years are is Dr Swati Popat Vats, an educator, educational activist, teaching expert, author and parenting guru, who was the expert speaker of the day. Here are some snippets from this insightful conversation.