TOI : Student suicide : Sept 25, 2007
Teachers deal with emotional issues
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: What Im going through right now is simply unbearable. Its something Ill have to live with. Thats what Anthony Furtado, parent of a 17-year-old who committed suicide, said during an SNDT University teacher mentoring workshop to promote psychological vigilance on Monday.
Over the last 8 months, similar workshops have been conducted for the SNDT students. The initiative was taken by vice-chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy after 2 students committed suicide in 2 years.
Teachers are quick to detect physical ailments among students but emotional fractures often go untreated, says Dr Harish Shetty, president of the Counsellors Association of India, which conducted the worshops. For instance, extreme anger and aggressiveness are signs of depression, and not an attitude problem.
Those who habitually hand in assignments late may suffer from emotional trauma, says Shetty. Trust your students completely, even when you know theyre lying. When perfectly healthy students say they couldnt give in their assignments because they were sick, believe them, said Shetty.
But how often do you let go of a lie? Is it correct to reinforce a lie? Your student may not have a physical ailment, but dont rule out the possibility of an emotional crisis, says Shetty, adding that a study undertaken in three educational institutions showed that 90% of those who were late in giving in their assignments had emotional problems. Teachers should not act like the police and force the truth out of a student; they need to elicit information instead, felt Shetty.
Teachers are often biased towards the top-rankers. Teachers ought to show more interest in a child whose head is down,, says Furtado. His son took his life as he felt he had done badly in an examination. Though my sons school had counsellors, nobody was able to detect the signs of deep depression, he added.
Teachers can go a long way in creating an emotionally secure environment where a student feels accepted whether or not he does something wrong, said Shetty. He likened teachers to chefsan inspiring teacher can turn a subject into a savoury dish.
Do barking dogs actually bite? When it comes to students who threaten suicide, its important to remember that they might actually carry out the threat. Research has shown that those who talk excessively of death and dying are more likely to take their lives as compared to those who dont.
When a student suffers from a severe emotional crisis, its important that teachers seek professional help when necessary. At the workshop, teachers shared a feeling of resentment at seeing a colleague beat them to a promotion. After 45, both doctors and teachers have a standard lineits all politics, says Shetty.
TELL-TALE SIGNS
Absenteeism Non-payment of fees Incomplete assignments Absence in the hostel mess Excessively religious Drop in grades
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