Teachers in Central Manchester are Concerned about the Mental Wellbeing of Students

Teachers claim that during the months or longer of distant schooling, pupils’ emotional development was stunted and that many returned to the classroom lacking coping mechanisms that would be usual for their ages.

Monique Gain, a teacher at Manchester High School, said, “When I was teaching online during the pandemic, it was alright for the most part but I was even more excited that everyone was returning to face to face classes.

But the transition has been more fraught than anticipated.

“I started noticing increased levels of tension, anxiety, and various behavioral concerns in students, I spoke to a few of them, only to realize that their mental health is not in a healthy place,” Cain said.

Teachers in central Manchester are becoming increasingly concerned about the mental health of their children. This increase makes it more difficult for instructors to perform their tasks, and teachers are advising parents to pay close attention to their children’s behavior as sometimes behaviors call for additional evaluation.

Concerns have grown as a highly stressful academic year comes to an end. Teachers add to the evidence that the past COVID-19 pandemic has contributed greatly to the mental health issues for this generation of students.

Chrisdale Dixon, teacher at Decarteret College, another high school in the parish, said he has also seen a similar concern with students’ mental health.

“There was a student that seemed to be going through some personal problems and emotionally it was draining to this student.

Sometimes students find it hard to speak to the guidance counselors and prefer to speak with the teachers they know and trust about certain aspects of their life. So there have been times where I’ve seen students going through some issues and just need someone to listen to them, which I’ve had to do on a few occasions” Dixon said.

Kemisha Robinson, cluster based guidance counselor for four schools in Manchester (QEG-74A) says that she has been getting alot of referrals for students with suicidal thoughts and who are undergoing severe stress.

Robinson further said that it’s important to pay attention to behavioral or emotional issues in children as oftentimes these behaviors need further assessment.

She spoke on a case where a student was referred because of his unusual outbursts and behavior in class.

“The child was observed during class and playtime and we soon after realized that the child was autistic and had a speech delay.He was recommended to MICRO Care for further evaluation and treatment, 99 she said.

Teachers are also urging parents to take responsibility for helping their kids emotionally and with greater intervention from the authorities the mental health of students would improve. “Parents must try to have a good relationship with their children so that when they are facing certain feelings they will be comfortable sharing it with the parents rather than hide it and let it affect them in other ways,” Dixon said.

Custos of Mandeville Garfield Green launched the Beliefs Values and Attitudes program (BA) aiming to facilitate attitudinal change and social revitalisation for children and adults.

Custos Green says the program has had successful cases where students have received the necessary counseling required to facilitate further learning and self development.

“I want to urge all parents to get involved in the lives of their children, find out how they are doing and try to support them as best as possible. The program is here and it is open to every child in need of support,” he said.

Counseling is available through the U-Matter Mental Health Chat Line. The counselors offer

Jamaican teenagers ages 16 to 24 free, private, and anonymous text-based mental health services. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Health & Wellness collaborated to create U-Matter last March in order to assist young people whose mental health issues had been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Farrika Green