Demands to support them psychologically ... and a study comparing their feelings with past years
Students suffer anxiety, introversion and bullying after returning to school
Health and educational authorities are carrying out a study to monitor how the student feels about his current experience in school.
Photography: Eric Arazas
Dr. Saif Al-Jabri: “The educational authorities must cooperate with the families of students, to prepare them to return to school.”
With students who confirmed their children's tendency to self-isolate after being away from the classroom for a long time.
Photography: Eric Arazas
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Relatives of students confirmed that their children had been bullied after returning to the classroom, due to being overweight, or earlier disclosing that they had been infected with the Coronavirus.
Others pointed out that their children feel anxious about returning to the classroom after being away from it for a long time, and their tendency to self-isolate.
Educators warned of an increase in cases of anxiety, disorder and bullying among students, after they returned to the classroom, after a break of more than 11 months, as a result of implementing the distance education system (since March last year), as part of the precautionary measures to prevent Corona, while the Ministry confirmed Health and Community Protection Conduct a study that monitors the students ’feelings after the school break, and compares it with what it was the case during the past years.
The Department of Education and Knowledge stressed the need for schools to develop a plan to support students in coping with symptoms of anxiety and trauma, to ensure their health and safety, based on individual risk assessment forms in cooperation with school counselors.
The department had set last February 14 as the date for students (the private sector and educational partnerships schools) to return to school, in accordance with the requirements, procedures and precautionary measures.
I informed the students' parents about this via text messages, and attached a parent guide to reopening schools.
In detail, teachers, social workers and psychologists: Saad Hammad, Ahmed Mohsen, Marwa Khairi, Noura Adham, Fatima Ibrahim and Khawla Fahmy confirmed that the outbreak of the Corona virus, and the consequent changes in the form of the educational system and the stay of students in their homes for a period of time approximately one year Most of them resulted in a feeling of yearning and enthusiasm to return to school, but there are other children who felt anxious or fearful about it, which resulted in a number of psychological problems, noting that they observed an increase in introversion, violence, bullying, and other psychological problems, in the classroom.
They stressed the need to work to improve the mental health of students, because their long interruption from the classroom left uneven psychological effects, calling for the development and development of strategies for mental and mental health, in a joint process between parents, schools and the Ministry of Education, to ensure that they have a good mental and psychological state, in addition to To activate educational and social programs to prepare them to return to school.
Relatives of students confirmed that their children had been bullied by colleagues after their return to school, for various reasons, such as the noticeable increase in weight, or the student's disclosure of infection earlier, or as a result of feeling anxious about returning to classes after being away from it for a long time.
The mother of a tenth-grade student, Manal Hamdy, indicated that her daughter requested her re-registration in the distance education system, after her classmates bullyed her because of her weight gain.
She said, "My daughter's negative attitude towards school made me disappointed, because I was hoping that her return to the regular classes would help her restore her social interaction, which she lost her to virtual study."
The father of a student in the 11th grade reported that his son's classmates called him "Covid", after he was exposed to the virus and recovered from it, which provoked laughter from other students, and prompted his son to quarrel with them.
He called on school administrations to educate their students about the psychological harm that aggressive behaviors inflict on their other classmates, pointing to the increase in bullying in classrooms.
Relatives of students: Muhammad Shukri, Ayman Abdul-Maqsoud, Laila Mubarak and Nada Khalaf, said that their children felt alienated after returning to study at school, because they discovered that they were placed in groups that did not include any of their friends.
And they stressed the need to organize intensive programs for students in real education, and "online" to make them aware of matters that their small minds cannot reach without assistance, such as the absence of a relationship between the virus and the body of the person or country from which it is descended.
They called for encouraging students to notify the administration directly, in case they were exposed to insults or bullying attempts while they were in or outside the school.
A professor of culture and society at the Canadian University in Dubai, Dr. Saif Rashid Al-Jabri, confirmed that there is a great influence on the psyche of students to return to schools after their long interruption.
He called for preparing students psychologically in a joint process between their families, teachers and the school administration. He also called for educating them about bullying, working to prevent them, and providing the necessary assistance and full support to them if they were exposed to it.
Al-Jabri stressed the need to work on finding effective educational solutions according to the segments and stages of students, explaining that “each age group has its own status. Dealing with secondary school students differs from dealing with primary school students, and therefore the different educational and educational administrations must be alerted to that the next phase You need patience, wisdom, and cooperation with families, to prepare children to return to school, and to push them towards building friendships, not to be frowned upon, and to return to proper educational attainment.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention said that it is supervising, with local health authorities and academic institutions in the country, to conduct a study to assess the mental health of schoolchildren in light of the "Covid-19" pandemic.
The results of the study will be used to inform health regulators and policy-makers of what they need to do, to help students maintain a balanced mental health in times of crisis.
The study focuses on monitoring the student's feeling about his current experience in school, does he consider himself better in his studies now compared to past academic years, and whether he feels more secure when studying online, and is able to communicate comfortably with friends and teachers in the school.
The questions also urge students to define their feelings during different periods, since the start of the pandemic, the pressures they were exposed to recently, the extent of its recurrence, the extent of their feelings of loneliness and tension, especially in the presence of those who are older than them, and the extent of their thinking about the difficult circumstances they went through, and how they assess their condition Psychological on a scale of 1 to 10 degrees.
In turn, the Ministry of Interior warned against neglecting to address the causes of bullying among students, whether from the family, from the school, or by institutions and agencies concerned with children's affairs, stressing the need to spread awareness against violence and how to deal with its effects and deal with it, given the psychological and physical problems that "bullying" leaves behind. On generations.
She stressed the role of the family in reducing bullying cases, by allocating specific times during the day to sit with children, play with them and listen to them, and the need to communicate with specialists and concerned authorities in the event of a child being subjected to violence, to provide them with appropriate consultations.
She stressed the need to educate the community about the concept of bullying, its forms, its various causes, places of occurrence, the characteristics of the bully, how to notice the occurrence of bullying against children, treat and prevent it, and provide advice and guidance on how to behave with a bully and confront it, and how to act when seeing a person being bullied.
Psychological aid
The Department of Education and Knowledge emphasized that schools should develop a plan to ensure the health and safety of staff and students, based on individual risk assessment forms in cooperation with school counselors, indicating that staff and students may suffer, after returning to school, some symptoms due to quarantine, social isolation, or loss Some close.
She added, "Schools may wish to use additional mentors to support members of the school community (students, teachers, and staff) during the post-quarantine and isolation phase, in addition to identifying the necessary resources that are appropriate for different ages to deal with mental health problems."
The department stressed the need for counselors and health and safety support staff to have the necessary knowledge of how to deal with students of determination, and an understanding of their unusual circumstances, “these students may be emotionally weaker than others, which negatively affects their mental health.”
She indicated that “in the event that the counselors do not have sufficient training, knowledge and experience to deal with students of determination and communicate with them, they must seek the help of the expertise of faculty members who are familiar with the needs of these students, without affecting their privacy, and if they are not allowed to obtain this support from within. The school, because of the students ’privacy, should seek advice from other specialists while preserving the student’s confidentiality.
The Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi set a date for the return of school students (the private sector and schools of educational partnerships) on February 14, according to the requirements, procedures and precautionary measures.
The department informed parents of this via text messages, and attached it to a parent guide to reopen schools.
She explained in the guide that “students can return to the classroom education system, noting that some schools may not be able to fully receive students at one time, due to the limited number of seats allowed in each class,” indicating the possibility of continuing education remotely, if this is so. It is the preferred educational model.
The department allowed students, teachers, and school personnel with chronic medical conditions to return to school, provided they present a doctor's certificate stating that the student is medically fit to return to school, and a form of undertaking to recognize potential risks to the student, signed by his guardian.
It also stressed the compulsory examination of "Covid-19" for grade school students from the age of 12 years and over, with the exception of people of determination.
As for students in kindergarten who have been distributed into groups, the number of children in each group should not exceed 10 children, as a maximum.
As for students in kindergarten, who receive their education in regular classes and not in groups, the maximum number allowed in each class is 25 students, taking into account leaving a distance of 1.5 meters between each student.
Education and Knowledge:
• “Schools should develop a plan to ensure the psychological health and safety of staff and students.”
Student mother:
• "My daughter's negative attitude towards school made me disappointed, because I was hoping that her return to the regular classes would help her restore her social interaction."
• The Ministry of Interior affirmed the need to educate the community about the concept of bullying, its forms, causes and locations.
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