The general perception is that teachers should teach children how to read and write. And build the strong foundation for children to pursue higher education.
The schools' responsibility is not just to teach reading and writing. But also help children to adjust to everyday life situations. Importantly which includes social and emotional learning and wellbeing.
Most of the teacher preparation courses focus on pedagogy and curriculum. There is lot of goodness if teachers could also be prepared to understand and identify common Mental health disorders.
If a child is unable to concentrate in class, its not only because of subject being taught. But also about factors such as family situations, peer situations, career planning, genetic issues and so on.
What Is Mental Health?
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
Over the course of our life, if we experience mental health problems, our thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected.
Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:
Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry.
Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse.
Family history of mental health problems.
Early Warning Signs:
Teachers should at least be trained to identify the early warning signs. In some cases there might be prevailing mental health issue among the child, and in some cases the child might start showing sudden signs of mental illness.
As per experts, the experience of one or more of the following feelings or behaviors can be an early warning sign of a problem:
Eating or sleeping too much or too little,
Pulling away from people and usual activities,
Having low or no energy,
Feeling numb or like nothing matters,
Having unexplained aches and pains,
Feeling helpless or hopeless,
Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual,
Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared,
Yelling or fighting with family and friends,
Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships,
Having persistent thoughts and memories you can’t get out of your head,
Inability to perform usual daily tasks.
Many countries including India now have recognised the importance of Mental health and wellbeing programs at schools. NIMHANS (National Institute for Mental Health and Neuroscience) Bangalore has also started some initiatives targeting schools.
Singapore has designed a curriculum for schools known as SEL (Social Emotional Learning).
Now it is the responsibility of the educators to strategize the programs for these kind of efforts.
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https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/10/19/why-dont-teachers-get-training-on-mental-health-disorders/
Sources:
1. https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health/
2. KQED website on education
Maaz Mohammed A.Q
(The writer is a learning strategist at Ccels La Education, Bangalore)