Dr. Nélida Mink, child and adolescent psychiatrist of the Mental Health Directorate of the MSPBS, explains that the role of the teacher is very important for the students, since they must know how to detect if something is happening with the child.
Likewise, he expressed the importance of teachers providing clear answers to students about their fears, because it is expected that children and adolescents have them at the beginning of face-to-face classes.
To face these situations, it is important that educational institutions are prepared to provide support for the mental health of students. From the Ministry of Health, through the Directorate of Mental Health, the following recommendations are issued for the families of the students and thus, return to face-to-face classes in the best way.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PARENTS
* It is expected that fear and other emotions may be present in the return to school period. It is important for teachers to be able to alert parents to this, as well as guide them on how to address this issue. We can remind them that active listening is important, that care with sanitary measures (vaccination, hand washing, use of a mask, physical distancing and ventilation of environments) reduce the risk of contagion and that going back to class is being able to be with classmates again/ friends, friends and teachers after several months of not being able to share more than being able to continue learning content.
* It is very important that parents monitor levels of anxiety in their children and not just monitor academic content and test or exam results.
* Remind them of the safe and supervised use of social networks, video calls and online games. With the substitution of face-to-face schooling for virtual schooling in recent months, the use of virtual resources to be in contact with peers and learn school content has skyrocketed, and with it the risks that social networks imply for children and adolescents. It is very important that parents monitor the use of these resources as they enable peer contact and learning.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHERS
Returning to classes for students can present mixed feelings, that is, with a lot of emotion for being able to see and share with their classmates after months of not being able to do so, but also with a certain fear of contagion from themselves and/or or their families.
It is of vital importance that teachers monitor the emotions of their students, since the appearance of fear, anxiety, sadness is expected. For the best detection and management of these situations, it is recommended that teachers:
* They can have spaces to talk, but above all listen to their students about how they feel about going back to school. These spaces can be group or individual. Focusing on the return to classes from the objective of recovering ties in the student body and not only focusing on academic learning deserves essential emphasis.
* Identify students who may need additional support in the future, such as those who are in a situation of complicated grief or who have suffered traumatic experiences in a period of confinement, or situations of learning or behavior difficulties.
* In addition to the importance of periodically contacting the families of their students, for this a tutoring system is recommended, that is to say that there is a designated teacher for a group of students to follow up on, in addition to inviting parents to do Get your doubts or suggestions regarding the return to face-to-face classes, taking into account that the process is dynamic.
* Also, and no less important, is that teachers monitor their emotions, in times of so much uncertainty. Therefore, a tutoring system could be implemented to monitor the teachers from each educational institution. In any case, teachers not forgetting their important work and reinforcing self-care measures would be ideal for these times (self-care involves measures such as a balanced diet, taking care of the quality and quantity of hours of sleep and favoring daily moments of dispersion).
AS A TEACHER, HOW CAN I HELP STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES?
Teachers must be clear about the main points to take into account to take care of the mental health of their students during the return to face-to-face classes.
* It is important that teachers can guide their students to reflect on how the confinement experience has affected us personally on an emotional level, how it has affected our friends, the class, the educational institution and the country, in so that you can learn from successes and mistakes. To be able to schedule these spaces within the schedule of activities, either one day a week or in a schedule of some subject that can be linked to the theme, in such a way that it is planned to be carried out periodically.
* Validate the emotions that may generate the return to classes, that is, it is expected that anxiety and sadness may appear. Talk about it with the students, encourage them to express themselves, and express to them that we understand them and the teachers are supportive of the students.
* Remind them that the priority of returning to classes is not focused on academics but on resuming ties with their peers and teachers. Favor activities that facilitate the resumption of links while continuing academic learning. It is very important that teachers can monitor levels of anxiety in their students and not just follow up on academic content and test or exam results.
* Encourage them to talk with their families about how they feel, if it is necessary to act as a link between students and their families, let them know that teachers can function as a link between students and parents in some cases.
