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Post by Cyndi Odipo MS4 on Sept 22, 2016 19:54:45 GMT -4
As a community, it is unfortunate that we miss the initial manifestation of psychiatric symptoms. This is a matter not brought to light as often as it should, unless in troubling cases. At that moment, all we could reflect on is ‘If only we had noted or payed attention’. This article did well to show the importance of having such programs where children could grow in an organized, structured environment that caters to their individual needs. By bridging psychiatric medical attention with children in need, the program effectively raises awareness of early detection and its benefits. This is imperative for families who lack financial means, or pertinent information that direct them towards proper treatment options. More programs such as the one being implemented by Mrs. Aiken should be considered, and uphold as an important factor for one’s mental health growth alongside stability.
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Post by Njoud Jweihan on Sept 22, 2016 20:25:05 GMT -4
School teachers play a very important role in children's upbringing and development. Children and adolescents have a tough time through school even without any mental health disorders. It makes sense that the pressure is expanded tremendously if they suffer from disorders that could get in the way of their education, social interactions, and developing an identity outside of the mental disorder (not being known as that kid with ADHD, anorexia, oppositional disorder, and so on). Principles who take initiative and try to make school a safer place for these children are needed and provide a sense of relief for the children and their parents.
We find school nurses, and a clinic in middle schools and high schools for physical health, and if there were any psychological issues or if the students wanted to speak about emotions, there was the school counselor. We have classes for English as a second language, and for the mentally disabled, but it is rare to find programs that tend to traumatized children, children with violence in their lives, and mental illnesses. If such programs are not feasible, training existing social workers and school advisors is the next best step. Social workers such as Ms. Ana Bonilla-Galdamez not only provide awareness about how these children should be conversed with and treated in times of crises, but how to approach the obstacle of getting these children to trust their surroundings and share their emotions in the first place.
Indeed and as the article mentions, some disorders can only be tackled by clinicians or at the hospital if the situation reaches any point of danger. Psychiatrists such as Dr. Lisa Cullins who spends time at the school could bridge this gap between the school and the clinic. I only hope that more psychiatrists take an interest in this as well. It is very disheartening to read about bullying, children committing suicide, and school shootings, and mental health is an integral part behind the prevention of such tragedies.
NJ(MS3)
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Huong Nguyen (MS 3)
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Post by Huong Nguyen (MS 3) on Sept 22, 2016 21:36:11 GMT -4
The article points out important information about recognizing and treating mental health in children and youth. Every kid is unique with his/her circumstance and coping mechanism. Therefore, mental health interventions must be flexible to provide the appropriate help that the kid needs. The first step of getting help is to figure out who needs help. School teachers, psychologist, and counselor provide the kids a supportive base. However, to ensure well-being of the youngsters, it requires more than just getting the kid to open up. The “multiple tiered system of supports,” described in the article, provides the necessary help for early intervention and even crisis intervention. It provides access to mental health treatment and management for the kids and their family in addition to taking up some of the responsibility faced by inexpert and overworked teachers and faculty. In other words, improving mental health in schools is comprehensive and a collaboration between school faculty and staff, family, and experts.
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Post by Tolulope A on Sept 22, 2016 22:04:11 GMT -4
The inadequacy of schools to cater for the needs of students or children with mental health challenges stems from the general inadequacy of the society to cater for the needs of those with mental challenges. The stigma attached to Mental health in the society has many implications and one of it is the deficiencies experience by education system to have a viable Care system for those struggling with issues like anxiety disorder, depression etc. While Teachers are not child psychologist or specialist in these areas, there is necessity for them to be trained in how to recognize and cater to a limited extent for those students or children that suffers from mental health issues. It is commendable what DC prep has done. Its partnership with National health system that allows for a psychiatrist to visit the school once or twice a month is a model most schools should look into adopting. Of course the challenge lies in getting these students to actually visit and see a professional but if teachers can be trained in how to deal with students with issues like this then they can be the ones who will serve as a bridge between students and professionals who can help with mental health issues.
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Post by Madhav Shyam MS3 on Sept 22, 2016 23:14:57 GMT -4
Its really quite sad that we know what the solutions are, but will never have enough funding to put things into place. Progress is progress however and perhaps local school boards will start enacting these changes once the parents are well informed to demand them. Teachers are consistently underpaid, overworked, with shortages of good teachers in the public system when they can make more in private schools. Schools pack in students as much as they can, the good schools place limits on how many they take. Its just an endless cycle that will leave the most unfortunate of the community struggling with the brunt end of the lack of resources. It would certainly be a better start to provide tax benefits for teachers to take training programs, offering them more benefits to work in less attractive communities where social change will make the biggest difference. Children without fathers were found in studies to be more likely to turn to a life of crime, While we can't fix relationships, we can improve their social standing by making them feel valuable at school. By listening to their thoughts and concerns, by helping them talk through the difficult topics. Counselors from schools can coordinate with psychiatrists to establish links to continue help for at risk individuals. You can't just have a school assembly discussing these topics, one on one time will help create an outlet for all students. When everyone is feeling understood and supported the whole community will benefit as a whole.
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Post by Namita Mehta on Sept 23, 2016 1:21:52 GMT -4
I agree with this article that there are many schools that are not taught about mental health disorders. As Aiekn mentioned"Teachers are trained to teach. We have all taken a child psychology class, but we're not trained to work with kids with mental health needs". Usually the teachers are the first ones to see the signs in children with any signs of mental health disorders since they are outside their home environment. With the increase in population and with the mental health illness rising it's important for the healthcare to recognize and provide the right resources for everyone around them. As the saying goes "it takes a village to raise a child". If the teachers and students are educated on the different types of mental health illness and how to approach each individual's needs many of the challenges can be overcomed. Once that is established, each student can become successful based on their needs.
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Post by Andrew Joseph on Sept 23, 2016 9:34:34 GMT -4
Many mental health issues go largely unnoticed or ignored in society, not to mention the stigma that is attached to having a mental illness. Being an adult with a mental condition in this society is hard. Imagine how difficult things must be for a child or even more so for an adolescent. greater effort is definitely needed on this front but from where? Well....where do these children spend most of their time? In school and it is in school that a lot of these mentally ill children and adolescent can experience hostility from their peers in the form of being shunned, teased and even ridiculed for their behavior and the results of such treatment can be detrimental. Schools need to work closer with psychiatrist, psychologist, guidance counselor etc. to improve screening, identification and treatment of common mental diseases that these children experience and so doing may improve not only their school experience but their lives as well. These children are still human and they feel and hurt just like any other person. Let us expand the reach of mental care into our schools where the future of our countries is being molded.
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Post by Betsy Joseph on Sept 23, 2016 11:38:30 GMT -4
I agree with this article that it is very important for children to have a good support system starting at an early age. Making sure children have a support system at a young age can help them learn to open up more and talk to parents, school counselors, etc. What I like about the article is how Aiken's method is preventative instead of only addressing crises as it occurs. I think more schools should be a trauma informed school where the staff is trained to deal with trauma. Early intervention for child and parents is crucial for them to gain the trust of counselors and school staff. Schools have counselors, but most students don't take advantage of the fact that they have someone they can always talk to, so early intervention is important for them to ease into it.
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Aminah Phelps (MS3)
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Post by Aminah Phelps (MS3) on Sept 23, 2016 18:03:51 GMT -4
Schools today are faced with so many challenges than back in the day. Teachers are more than just teachers, they are mothers, counsellors, doctors, social workers, and much more. I wish there were enough resources, so schools could be equipped with the proper professionals but unfortunately there are not enough resources. Adolescent psychiatry is on the rise because mental health issues are on the rise and there is not enough attention paid to children. The things children are swing these days are really sad. Many parents are in denial that their child needs any help but there is nothing wrong with needing help w a psychiatrist. The best thing we can do for children is always be supportive because we never know what they are going thru.
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Rachel Austin (MS3)
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Post by Rachel Austin (MS3) on Sept 23, 2016 21:56:07 GMT -4
I do agree with this article due to the fact that, children when in school do not get the required counseling and help that they need. Some schools just have the standard counsellors who are not qualified to help students who have mental disabilities, suicidal ideations and/or traumatized either from bullying or violence within the home. This is best seen when the author stated that “Teachers are trained to teach. We have all taken a child psychology class, but we're not trained to work with kids with mental health needs.” I do believe these schools need more qualified professionals to help these children succeed. This article goes on further to suggest that Ana Bonilla-Galdamez’s expertise in implementing different strategies which help students open up to manage their emotions in potential stressful situations. This should be used as a prime example for those professionals who aim to become counsellors within our schools. After all, teachers are the first responders to see the signs of behavioral changes that occur within their students.
RA (MS3)
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Post by Cynthia Coronel MS3 on Sept 24, 2016 16:38:48 GMT -4
I think early childhood intervention is important in early childhood education. Especially for children growing up in unfortunate environments or have gone through a traumatic experience. By aiding children at an earlier age, we are removing the stigma around mental health issues and we are also giving them the tools necessary to help themselves. By helping them and teaching them to address their mental health, we are helping them to be more prepared for the real world and decreasing the likeliness of have a mental health issue in their adulthood. By creating a school environment in which teachers, doctors and therapist work together, we can help those children in tremendous need and give them a brighter future.
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Post by Geoffrey MS3 on Sept 24, 2016 17:06:24 GMT -4
The US school systems have a lot to learn from other countries as I feel like we are lagging behind and this could be rectified by just the staff in the school by putting in a extra effort for the more demanding students in a school. I do understand that its not for them to just go against the rule of the school and give a one on one interaction with the student but in class I feels like much more can be done. Because the children are the next generation and being a teacher is such a noble profession for all students. It is a good idea to have psychologist to check in on the students on a regular basis and monitor their mental status rather than just throwing the students in a group and then hoping that they don't catch any mental illness along the way.
Geoffrey MS3
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Post by Vani Zutshi, MS4 on Sept 25, 2016 15:39:49 GMT -4
This article addresses the importance of being conscious of mental health issues from a young age, especially in a population that is at higher risk. Children who have experienced any kind of trauma in their lives need to have extra attention paid to their mental health at an early stage so that their negative experiences will not influence them as adults. It is apparent in our society that many adults have mental illnesses that may have had less of a negative effect on their lives if they had received the kind of help they needed when they were children. The changes these schools mentioned in the article are making will be beneficial in preventing further progression of the mental illnesses that plague these children.
VZ (MS4)
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Shashank Varakantam, MS4
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Post by Shashank Varakantam, MS4 on Sept 25, 2016 15:44:44 GMT -4
In this article, we see that there are schools in this country that are making a genuine effort to help children who have had negative experiences in their lives that could later develop into mental illness. It is commendable that these schools are making this kind of effort, especially the example of the principal who would greet students every morning as they come off the bus along with other teachers. This is an excellent way to show the students that these people are always there for them when they need help, and they are also role models for the students. It is important to acknowledge that mental illness is not something that only occurs in adulthood. Rather, the experiences that children go through can have a negative impact and later turn into mental illness in adulthood. The programs these schools are putting in place will help these children to talk about the trauma they have been through and seek the help they need to move on and have some mental well-being.
SV (MS4)
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Post by Muneeb Ahmad MS-3 on Sept 25, 2016 19:20:05 GMT -4
Attending to children's mental well-being is an often overlooked section of childhood education. Very frequently, the onus is placed on the parents to provide a stable home situation, while the school setting is utilized to drill the children with information, and a child's 'success' or 'failure' is dependent on the extent to which he can re-produce this information. However, in order to optimize education and retention, a school should attend to the psycho-social well-being of its members, which can, in part, be accomplished by training teachers or recruiting more health-care professionals. I think it would be wise to devote more financial resources to this end: Far too much money is thrown at creating artificial metrics to measure a child's academic performance when a more substantial result could be achieved if we look to address a student's psycho-social well-being.
Muneeb Ahmad MS3
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