Tag: Student Mental Health

IT BEGINS AT SCHOOL

IT BEGINS AT SCHOOL

by Kirsten Rossouw ♥ 1 Comment


Like most foundation skills we learn at school, reading and writing stay with us for life. It is at these early stages where most basic learning takes place. Yet, the introduction of mental health topics is something we seem to stumble on as young adults.
Yes, teachers play a crucial role in promoting student mental health. However, it is the school’s responsibility to pave the way and establish values that prioritize the wellbeing of the whole student. The school’s philosophy sets the tone for the environment it creates. Pressure cannot be placed solely on teachers to provide a positive atmosphere when the top (system) fails to lead by example. Schools must readjust their vision, mission, and goal to cater to a safe, mental health-friendly environment. The words must become a reality. Instead of a slogan/motto to slap on the monthly newsletter or a catchphrase to lure prospective students. Schools should lead and guide teachers/staff to form a united front that advocates the importance of mental wellbeing by introducing the right resources for students.

Where did we go wrong?

The majority of schools adopt a militant approach to education. A system that focuses on discipline and producing results. The belief is that achievement and success is the single objective. The cornerstone of our capitalist society. A culture that breeds students with a clouded tunnel-vision perspective on success and what matters in life.
A robotic culture, stuck in mundane outdated curriculums that attempt to produce a standard of unilateral thinking. A fixation on accumulating facts and building a reservoir of knowledge that often serves no use. Remember, knowledge without application has no purpose. The obsession with numbers, quantity over quality, begins here.
It is one of our first experiences of an institution with an unquenchable thirst for results. A measurement of how much we retain rather than how much we will use. A uniformity that is not only introduced by the need to look the same but by the naive expectation that students think the same.
The problem is that schools foster a narrow view of success through academics or sports. Children reared on the idea that happiness can be achieved, through results that bring success. Success in the form of tangible objects and possessions. Consumerism in a capitalist economy at its finest. A step-by-step guide. One is only satisfied once they have secured a house, a car, (inserts any luxury) etc. A game that requires each level to be unlocked, revealing new attainment of success. We are to blame for reducing self-worth down to societal standards. Value, reduced to the number of things you obtain. This moment is where we fail our youth and indoctrinate a falsehood of needing to live a life driven by wealth, power, and fame. We got kids believing that there is one path to take. No pressure. The naivety and ignorance behind telling our youth you are unique and different but, “here’s one door”- our job is to push you through.

Schools often promote academic competence without the
development of emotional/ social skills. Producing kids with an aggressive pursuit of ambition and very little understanding of mental health. So what can we do to shift our notion/ focus to developing healthy minds? Minds that are not dependent on academics or sport to produce a meaningful life. But ultimately an environment where student differences are accepted and celebrated. A new focus on happy, healthy children rather than successful children. Schools carry precious cargo through their halls and corridors each day. The duty to shape young minds. A task that big requires change and an understanding that human beings are multidimensional. All factors must be nurtured and cultivated.


So we understand the problem, how do we implement solutions? Like I mentioned earlier, we have to start with adjusting our objectives. Once we make a clear goal to adhere to, then we can meet those words with actions. Schools can start by investing in mental health training for teachers. Educate teachers on general mental health problems and the know-how for early intervention. Support teachers with the knowledge to assist students with mental health challenges by identifying and responding. Train teachers and staff to promote behavioral development. Learn the necessary ways that will limit feelings of hopelessness and sadness that roam through classes.
Implement mental health workshops where students can engage in relevant topics and understand themselves. Build self-awareness and introspection so that students can identify their emotions by linking their ‘known’ feelings to appropriate actions.

Aim higher.

Schools can reach out to the education department and relevant boards to assess curriculum changes. They must be held accountable for pushing material that has no meaning or value. We must move towards content with life lessons and key takeaways. The kind of material that will promote relevant skills for the outside world. These changes can merge into a required subject. A subject dedicated to open discourse among students on the harsh realities and the nature of the world we live in. A step up from L.O. Lessons that equip students with the necessary tools to navigate through the ups and downs of life.
For schools to fully hold a positive space for learners, there must be room for a diversity of talents. Clubs and extracurriculars equally invested in specific niches to cultivate young artists, creatives, or innovators.
Schools should have a qualified school counselor on the premise to assist students in an emergency and general student checkups. Group sessions and individual consultations where students can speak their minds. A health professional that can bridge an understanding between the expectations of parents, school and the needs of the student. Someone who is an ear and voice for each child.
Schools must fully immerse themselves in creating a wellness ambiance by following a mental health calendar. Acknowledge and honor days that are important in educating mental illness.
The school can also make an effort to host mental health organizations or professionals for seminars. Lectures and masterclasses that create awareness while teaching students the key to mental wellbeing.

There are many ways schools can implement changes and teach the importance of intangibles. Moving away from the system we have all been accustomed to, to one we are deserving of. But change requires leaving familiarity behind and welcoming improvement. The education system has to understand its inner purpose and use it to mold a better future. Education with meaning.
Schools should feel fulfilled by their contribution of sending out well-developed students groomed holistically. Thinkers of the future, who don’t only hold certificates with A’s but a mind strong enough to cope through adversity.

What kind of humans do you want to walk out of your institution?

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH

by Kirsten Rossouw ♥ 7 Comments

The Teacher’s Role in Student Mental Health.

Hopefully, we’ve all had teachers in our lives that made a mark. A positive mark. The kind of teachers that stepped beyond academics and paid attention to our mental well-being too. The type of teachers who refused to view us as a number of the system and took the time to learn about who we are.
Now I know we live in a numerical world, where our scores and marks determine how we are ‘seen’ and what we will be.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe in testing well for one’s personal goals. But more so, I advocate the importance of rearing good, kind, healthy human beings. A success that isn’t measured by your ability to memorize and repeat.

I am lucky to have crossed paths with one of the special-kind and unfortunate to have experienced many who were straight-up textbook teachers. One’s who regurgitated knowledge in pursuit of our retention.

But let’s shine the spotlight our those gems that deserve recognition.
So I’ll take you back to 2006. The year I met a teacher who had a lifelong influence and shaped me into the person I am today. I’ll spare you the details. But for a 9-year-old, I went through two significant changes in under a year. I had recently experienced the loss of my father and shortly after moved from South Africa, my home, to the UK. I know what you’re thinking, how bad could it be? And yes, it ended up being a magical adventure. But as a youngin, I was leaving all I had known behind. Soldiering on~ these changes had directly impacted my well-being but, still, we move. There were more factors at play though the gist was that things were rough.

The English school year begins in September, so I started school in the middle of year 5 (Grade 5). Hands down my worst academic year. I know it’s primary school but as a kid who valued scholarly achievements, it was dismal. I couldn’t keep up with the workload and the pressure I felt of being a new immigrant, fighting off old stereotypes. The school didn’t ease that transition. I felt the weight of having to start all over again, making friends, learning an advanced curriculum, and proving myself. I guess the latter was self-inflicted, I burdened myself with the feeling of needing to prove I deserved to be there. There I was trying to catch up while my teacher failed to recognize anything beyond my substandard marks. She chose to ignore the reflection or deeper meaning behind those numerical values. Zero guidance, zero understanding. She gave me ‘just another dumb foreigner’ vibes. Class dismissed.

For many kids, including me going to school brings comfort, structure, and safety. But this particular year, I dreaded every day. With low self-esteem and no classroom support, I felt useless. Feeling overwhelmed and constantly overlooked, I struggled in silence and counted my days.

Until year six arrived and changed the game. In some way, I had to experience the bad before appreciating the good. This year I was blessed with a teacher who saw something in me. He saw my potential and took the time to cultivate an environment where I could unlock it. Mr. Squillario not only noticed my academic potential but my sporting talents too. It was at a PE class where we played cricket that my boost of confidence grew. Mr. Squillario instantly observed my capabilities, I finally felt accepted among my peers. In South Africa, sport was and is an integral part of the schooling system. My talents arose from countless memories of playing cricket with my older brother and Gran. One PE class had taken me back to a moment of pure bliss. I felt like a kid again. Turn’s out, Mr. Squillario saw something shift in me too. The next day he handed me a letter for country cricket trials. He told me to hand it over to my parents and that he believed I had a good chance.

At the time, I was in my head, thinking this was something way out of my league. I was just a little Durban girl, ‘what business did I have in an English county team.’ I pushed that letter to the bottom of my bag, but he was resilient. Each day he would ask me, “Did your parents sign it yet?” with a nervous mumble, I would reply with an excuse. All while knowing the letter sat pressed between todays’ lunch and tomorrow’s homework. But he pushed. After school, he followed briskly behind and spoke to my mother. Unimpressed and caught off guard, my mother assured him she would take a look at it. I, of course, was reprimanded for withholding information and the embarrassment that ensued. I guess a part of me was struggling with self-doubt and the idea of incurring additional expenses/pressures on the fam. But whatever he said made her sign that form. With a bottle of water and my talent, I showed up at trials. I immediately became intimidated by girls with name-branded gear and already formed cliques. Over the trial period, it stirred a hunger in me. I was losing too much that I needed to win. I wanted this opportunity, knowing I had someone who believed I was worthy of it. I had never felt a sense of belonging like I did when holding a cricket ball. When that letter arrived to congratulate me on making the Middlesex County U11 Cricket team, I owed that success to Mr. Squillario.

Moral of the story Mr. Squillario saw me. He gave me a shot that no one else could or was willing to. He unlocked a beast mode in me that left all inadequate, insecure feelings behind. He opened up a door of possibilities and believed that I could achieve anything. I excelled in my schoolwork again and made the squad each year after that. I played club, academy, and county-level cricket for eight years, winning Jack Petchey awards and competing in the London Youth Games. I had arrived. I went from playing with my family in the flats to training at Lords Cricket Ground, because of the impact a teacher had made. The achievements, though rewarding, didn’t match what he shifted internally in me. My mindset, my emotional and social well-being had changed for the better.

He gave me a start in life, a chance at my new life in the UK. He believed in fostering a supportive atmosphere, a classroom that developed our emotional, social and academic competence. He focused on the whole student and appreciated each individual. It is that type of teacher who acknowledges their role is more than the formal description. He took the initiative to facilitate a mental health, friendly environment. He made us feel like we could talk about our emotions and helped us regulate them. Despite the school’s lack of support, he went against the norm and became a mentor, counselor, and educator all in one.

Teachers play a crucial role in their student’s mental health often becoming the only role models outside of a child’s home. They spend countless hours with children and watch them develop, putting them in a prime position of often detecting mental health problems that interfere with day-to-day functioning. Though diagnosis cannot be made on their part, observations can assist with early intervention.
The classroom can be a space for emotional expression, in some cases something that isn’t an option at home. Teachers form an example of healthy, appropriate adult behavior which children will internalize and model. They shape our mindsets. In essence, a classroom is a powerful place and with the right teacher, it can change you for life.