Children’s mental health and wellbeing- Understanding counselling practices at schools (Part 1.1)

- There is a strong need to balance academic excellence and quality of life at school. Currently, due to various factors, the schools and parents are focused more on academic than the quality of life. Various studies are being undertaken to understand ‘holistic development’ of children at school as well as home.

A field research was undertaken titled 'Children’s mental health: Towards an understanding of school counselling practices’, and soon after that, another study was done on ‘Wellbeing policies’. This field intervention was done in five schools of Mysore, Karnataka, India. And the mentor for the field research (first study) on children’s mental health was Mrs Rajashree, a faculty member and Education program head at Azim Premji University, Bangalore.

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The child’s wellbeing and mental health are very crucial for the child’s success at school as well as life. In today’s scenario around the world, particularly in urban centres, children are not getting adequate care- due to many factors such as nuclear families, both parents working, and social media etc. We were very curious to understand how a counsellor in a school can help children to overcome any hurdles they might face in their school life and outside school life. In this field research, I engaged in a mix of schools who had appointed counsellors, and also schools who had not appointed counsellors. This way we had an opportunity to understand the child’s mental health support in both kinds of school settings.

According to (American school counsellor association, N.A), school counsellors are certified/licensed educators who improve student success by implementing a comprehensive school counselling program. School counsellors are vital members of the education team and maximize student success. School counselling program entails counsellors, to apply academic achievement strategies, manage emotions and apply interpersonal skills, guide and plan for higher education, one to one counselling to all the students, and many more.

How does counselling support benefits students- it is an effective source of support for students, enabling them to function better both in and outside of the school, enhancing their resilience and giving them resources to manage challenges life throws at them, students gain a better understanding of themselves and the situations facing them and strategies to cope with change (Cathedral school, N.A).

The purpose of this study was to understand how school counsellors are helping the schools and parents to empower children’s wellbeing and mental health. During this study I spent a full day at schools, looking at the day to day affairs of the counsellors. Few schools had full-time counsellors, and few had part-time counsellors.

The period of study was from August 2015 to December 2015, the study tools were designed at Azim Premji University, and the field engagement was from 17^thNovember 2015 to 24^th December 2015. After the study, a comprehensive report was submitted as a student work for the course of M.A Education, Semester: III (2014 – 2016 Batch) at Azim Premji University, Bangalore. The final report was submitted on 20^th March 2016.

We are starting an article series on wellbeing and we would love to share with you the entire study in bits and pieces. This is our first article on this series.

Written by: Maaz Mohammed AQ

(Note: This work was done as a student course work. We do not entertain to use this data for professional or legal use. The founder of Credence Learning Foundation himself is a general counsellor trained at Banjara Academy, Bangalore. During this time of the study, the researcher himself was a certified counsellor. Additionally, the researcher worked at an American MNC before joining the MA Education course. This research work is being referred for the series on wellbeing).

Involve parents, carers and families for school success:

Work with parents/carers and families can add strength and depth, and has been shown to have a significant impact in making approaches and specific interventions more effective, both by helping family life reinforce the messages of the school and through helping parents and carers develop their own parenting skills and attitudes. The school has an important part to play in supporting the kind of parenting and family life that boosts well-being. This can be done informally, through conversation with individual parents and carers, or more formally through presentations at parents’ evenings, printed information, parenting education courses, and designated family link workers. Parents and carers who may not have had a positive experience of parenting themselves may need particular help to respond to their children’s behaviour in emotionally literate ways, to spend quality time with their children, to focus on their children’s strengths, to listen, empathise and understand the causes

Teacher encourages 6th class dropout, later on that student establishes a successful food company:

- A boy fails in 6th standard and drops out of school. After being concerned of a student dropping out of school, a teacher encourages that child to join back the school. Later on this boy in his career develops a food business and delivers his success story at Harvard University. Today the company which he developed is know as 'iD fresh food'. As of 2021 the company is valued at ₹2,000 Crore. After failing in Class 6 he joined his father on the farm. He said in one of the interview, "We barely earned ₹10 in daily wages. Eating three meals a day was a distant dream. I'd tell myself, 'Right now, food is more important than education',". Many successful people are those who come out of hardship and struggle in their venture and later on this struggle gives them motivation to achieve in life. These people are ready to take risks in life, as they have already lived 'out of their comfort zone'. This story also highlights the value of a teacher who was

CBSE manual for mental health and wellbeing:

- Children's success in school and life is directly linked to their mental health. Many of us either do not understand the connection or just ignore it. Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. There is a very crucial need to understand this area of children at school. This is a manual (See at the end) published by CBSE board, which lays down perspectives on MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING. The 21st century emerging challenges have necessitated that the schools also shift the focus to the psychosocial needs of students and take care of the overall wellbeing. The schools should take actions and adopt strategies for identification and prevention of various mental health and wellbeing needs, which would create safe school environment. The priority in schools should mainly be about early identification at the individual and systemic level. This document attempts to align the role and import

5 points - Better teacher collaboration and better school outcomes:

- Collaboration means collective efforts to achieve shared belief and common outcome. Collaborative efforts are essential, particularly when the focus is on progress and development. Below are the 5 points why collaboration is key at school: 1. The collaboration between the teachers is key for academic development and progress at school. Working together can lead to the exchange of valuable teaching methods and intellectual insights, but these advantages are often overlooked amid busy schedules. 2. Teachers have usually a very packed schedule. Teachers often face challenges when it comes to collaboration due to packed schedules filled with specific duties and fixed periods, making it difficult to find the time for deeper planning and individual student assessments. 3. The education of teachers in teaching techniques and methodologies and child development is very very important. Poor educational backgrounds, particularly among non-B.Ed. teachers in private schools can further hind

ಪ್ರೊ. ಕೆ. ಎಸ್. ನಿಸಾರ್ ಅಹಮದ್ ರವರ ಜೀವನ-

- ಪ್ರೊ. ಕೆ. ಎಸ್. ನಿಸಾರ್ ಅಹಮದ್ ಪ್ರೊ.ಕೆ.ಎಸ್.ನಿಸಾರ್ ಅಹಮದ್ (5 ಫೆಬ್ರುವರಿ 1936 - 3 ಮೇ 2020) ಕನ್ನಡದ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಅವರ ಪೂರ್ಣ ಹೆಸರು 'ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆಹೊಸಳ್ಳಿ ಶೇಖಹೈದರ ನಿಸಾರ್ ಅಹಮದ್'. ಅವರು ಬರೆದ 'ಜೋಗದ ಸಿರಿ ಬೆಳಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತುಂಗೆಯ ತೆನೆ ಬಳುಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ' ಎಂಬ ಪದ್ಯವು ಬಹಳ ಜನಪ್ರಿಯವಾಗಿ ಅವರು ನಿತ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ ಕವಿಯೆಂದೂ ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. Image source: Online typing ಜೀವನ- ಪ್ರೊ. ನಿಸಾರ್ ಅಹಮದ್ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ದೇವನಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಫೆಬ್ರುವರಿ ೫, ೧೯೩೬ ರಲ್ಲಿ ಜನಿಸಿದರು. ೧೯೫೯ ರಲ್ಲಿ ಭೂವಿಜ್ಞಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ನಾತಕೋತ್ತರ ಪದವಿ ಪಡೆದರು. ೧೯೯೪ ರ ವರೆಗೆ ವಿವಿಧ ಸರಕಾರಿ ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅಧ್ಯಾಪಕ ಹಾಗು ಪ್ರಾಧ್ಯಾಪಕರಾಗಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಿ ನಿವೃತ್ತರಾದರು. ಜನನ 5 ಫೆಬ್ರುವರಿ 1936 ದೇವನಹಳ್ಳಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ಸಂಸ್ಥಾನ, ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷ್ ಇಂಡಿಯಾ ಮರಣ 3 ಮೇ 2020 (ವಯಸ್ಸು 84)[೧] ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ವೃತ್ತಿ ಸಾಹಿತಿ, ಪ್ರೊಫೆಸರ್ ಭಾಷೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯತೆ ಭಾರತ ಪ್ರಕಾರ/ಶೈಲಿ Fiction ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಚಳುವಳಿ ನವ್ಯ ಕಾವ್ಯ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಕೆಲಸಗಳು ಮನಸು ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಜಾರು(1960) ನಿತ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗಳು ಪದ್ಮಶ್ರೀ (೨೦೦೮), ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ (೧೯೮೧) ಕೆಲವು ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯಗಳು : ನಿಸಾರ್ ಅಹಮದ್ ಅವರ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯಾಸಕ್ತಿ ೧೦ ನೇ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಆರಂಭ. 'ಜಲಪಾತ'

10 key points for parents for children’s educational success:

- Parents' attitude and behaviour towards education shape a child's own perspective. Involved parents are more likely to ensure their children attend school regularly. When parents are involved, children are more likely to feel connected to their school and their learning. Below are 10 points: 1. Parents must adopt a more proactive approach to their children's education and upbringing than ever before. 2. At home, parents should facilitate meaningful engagement with children in quest (journey) for learning. 3. The parents should develop a collaborative and open communication environment at home. 4. Parents should be informed about teachers' ongoing instructions and assigned homework/activities. 5. Parents should attend all the meetings, orientation and events organised at school. 6. Parents should have full awareness of their children's educational activities at home and school. 7. Parents should show consistent interest and care towards children’s academic lear

School meal programs are linked with improvements in the classroom:

- > A school meal (whether it is a breakfast, lunch, or evening meal) is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school , typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. Countries around the world offer various kinds of school meal programs , and altogether, these are among the world's largest social safety nets . > Providing students with breakfast in the classroom is associated with lower rates of tardiness, fewer disciplinary office referrals, improved attendance rates, and improved math and reading achievement test scores. > A considerable body of evidence shows that the school meals programs are profoundly important for students, especially low-income students, with well- documented benefits. > School meals support good nutrition throughout the school day. Program participants are less likely to have nutrient inadequacies and are more likely to consume fruits, vegetables, and milk at breakfast and lunch. “ The exposure to healthi

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What is phonics in english and understanding Hauna phonics system:

HAUNA PHONICS HAUNA phonics is a systematic, child centred approach to teaching literacy skills. Children are taught the sounds of the letters in a specific order. Group 1- s, a, m, n, i, p, t Group 2-r, d, c, k, o, g, l Group 3- b, u, f, h, j, e, q Group 4- v, w, x, y, z, Group 5- ai, ee, ai, oa, ue Group 6- Ng, ch, th, ah, OO, oo Group 7-ou, oi, or, er, ar After completion of one group of letters, children are taught how to blend and read words. Words that do not follow the phonics principle are named as Comm. words or frequently used words. Children are taught four lists of Comm. words in H3. List 1 I, me, he, be, to, do, no List 2 We, was, has, is, his, so, us List 3 All, go, she, my, are, here, one List 4 The, them, there, those, this, those, that, then, there Click to see video of Sounds of phonics: Further reading: Understanding Phonics of English language: So, what exactly is phonics? Phonics involves

What if somebody labelled you a 'Slow Learner':

- You will realise many aspects after reading this. *How to remove ur label given by others*?(Overcoming blindspots) Worth reading... I sat in my chair quietly next to my Mom & Dad as my grade 4 teacher gave them an update on my progress at school. “your child is a slow learner” said the school teacher quietly. I held my breath & sank a little lower into my chair. I looked up at my dad to see if he was in trouble. My father glanced down, smiled & gave me a quick wink. On the way home from the Parent-Teacher meeting, I thought about what Mrs. Shastri had called me – ‘Slow Learner’. Deep down I knew that what she really meant was that I was dumb. Later that evening, my Mom & Dad came into my room carrying a piece of paper & a pen. They sat down on the side of the bed & said, “Want to talk to you about what Mrs. Shastri said today.” “A Slow Learner” I replied. I had already taken the words to heart. “That’s right” said my dad as my mother wrote the words ‘Slow L

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