Emphasis on mental health
AS we approach the end of the year, we undoubtedly begin to reflect on our highs and lows. For a school, it is important to take stock of how things are going and plan what corrective actions need to be taken to get the very best from its students. However, it may surprise you to know that these days, the conversations in school staff rooms are primarily on student mental health and wellbeing, rather than academic progress.
This may well be because students today are born into the social media age. Life before social media is incomprehensible to most students now. Hence, they lead a life that is often dictated by the hazy rules of social media. Students are constantly connected, yet at the same time disconnected from life as their parents and teachers know it.
Despite this disconnect, and like all previous generations of students, there is a great desire for independence. However, children today often have a dependence on social media that sometimes borders on addiction. Sadly, many require validation and acceptance from people who barely know them, and quite often whom they have never even met in the physical world.
These pressures very often cause mental health issues. What we see in education today is a growing number of students who embrace failure too easily, whose selfesteem is eroding and whose social skills are disappearing. As a result, many schools have developed strategies designed specifically to address these issues.
At elc International School, this is certainly the case. Student Welfare director Kumar Nagappan, along with a team of teachers and administrators, are constantly reviewing their “Life Skills Development” programme, which is focused on developing student leadership, independence and self-reliance. Throughout the school, there is a focus on life skills workshops, one-to-one discussions with students, a wide range of extracurricular and after-school activities and building classes around service projects that teach humility and the need to give back to society.
In broader terms, elc teachers are mindful that their influence on students extends beyond the classroom and their subject lessons. elc also engages parents through the Parents’ Association and directly with a steady stream of workshops and activities. The school has found that there is an increasing need to step out of the traditional classroom setting and have teachers, parents and students work together to build the foundations of success for each and every student.
When asked about the future, elc founder and chief executive officer Margaret Kaloo says, “We are not infallible, but the heart in this school is unique and genuine. There is a warmth and spirit of giving in elc, a depth of care for others and a passion for profound learning. We must work to ensure that in an increasingly challenging world, we never lose our heart and qualities”.
As you reflect on 2019 and move into 2020, always remember that we all faced challenges of one sort or another over the years. These may be different times and different challenges, but together we can pave our way to success.
Students are constantly connected, yet at the same time disconnected from life as their parents and teachers know it.