Dear Editor,
In Guyana, there were a number of school violence between students and clashes between teachers and their students. The school system which was designed to educate our youths through academia is failing to meet the mental and emotional needs of students.
Students attend school from different backgrounds and with unlike life stories. Some struggle at home while some are better-off than others. Some were raised in turbulent environments, whereas some were brought-up with serenity and calmness. However, in this day and age that we are living in, many children are under constant pressure and are dealing with many things internally. It is my opinion that many students want to be understood and comforted, as a form of security to get them through the situations that they have bottled-up and don’t disclose rarely to anyone.
The world we live in today is not the same as the one many of us were brought up in years ago, it has changed drastically. Therefore, while we know that children should go to school and learn, the environment should facilitate mentorship and counselling sessions within its curriculum or system to better reach students.
In a recent interaction with a few students, it was surprising to see that the students, neatly dressed and wearing pleasant smiles, in their classrooms, despite going through various difficulties such as the loss of a loved one, family issues, recovering from an illness. Suddenly, as the students opened up about their experiences, a rush of emotions began to pour on their faces. It is therefore imperative that the school system develop measures that can help children to cope with stress. If we don’t, then I fear that we are not preparing students for the real world, and currently, it is evident that mental health and violence is an ever increasing problem already. If we are to act, the time will be now, to introduce a programme that can provide guidance and emotional sustenance to students. This will help to understand these students and becomes a buttress for them to be empowered. Consequently, through such a programme we may witness a reduction in school outbursts and this can help students when they are caught in conflicts at home. More and more, we are seeing smart students, and if not the ‘A’ grade students, students in various secondary schools, in general, becoming more susceptible to anger issues resulting in disrespect to the teacher and their fellow classmates in the classroom.
Further, we will be depriving students of a bright and successful future if we only prepare them academically and don’t help them to change their behaviours and traits that they would have developed over time through the conditions and circumstances they were raised in. To a great extent, children struggle with a sense of neglect and rejection, and this many times, start from the home. They, then, bring these sort of behaviour and translate it in the classroom and the teacher who deals with these students for practically eight hours of the day (most of the time) is the one that has to be the advocate and party that faces the obstruction to his/her job, and the hassle to try to contain and control the students in his/her classroom which takes away from the his/her teaching time.
Accordingly, school should not be just an academic institution but a ‘refuge’ where students not only learn academia but develop mental and emotional stamina and traits to handle real world issues and challenges. However, the picture painted to students and children over the years is to be disciplined. Has anyone ever thought of sitting and listening to what is affecting a child guilty of misdemeanors in a classroom on several occasions? Students need proper guidance and mentorship, not just in their studies, but to deal with the issues that they are faced with every day.
This will help them to have better management of their emotions and be able to control themselves respectfully in tough situations. Thus, I recommend that mentorship programmes be implemented in the school system so that students can get the encouragement and enlightenment required to help them to live a well life.
Sincerely,
Imran Bacchus
