Mental Health Awareness in Schools

HI Latha,

I think it is a learning phase...I used to teach KG classses in India and children tend to test limits there as well-the manner is a bit different but the principle is the same...it sounds like he was caught up in the moment As you say, he seems to have recognized the boundaries and made amends.

I remember reading a study a while ago-apparently students (don't remember the age or class) recieved 12 critical comments for every compliment or recognition of achievement...the point being that they were asking teachers to catch the child doing things 'right' and see the 'wrong' (?) behaviors go down. It is not always possible to do so everytime but it does make a difference. And yes, I hate being told I am wrong but with age comes the ability to look at the other points of view (hopefully).

Rama

 

Executive Function contd...

Sequencing:

The steps leading to the completion of your final goal have to be done in a specific order. We follow our basic daily chores in a sequential manner-wake up, make the bed, brush our teeth, drink coffee, etc.
How does this translate in the classroom? Take a math problem-you have to apply the formula step by step to arrive at the answer. If you are writing an essay in English or any other language, it should have an introduction, body of content, and summary. Mix them up and the teacher has a hard time understanding your point and your grades suffer. The same goes for science and other subjects. Besides the actual impact in specific subjects, think about everyday steps like packing a schoolbag with the day’s materials, homework, getting projects ready…

If the homework assignment is a project, the onus is on you to identify the individual steps and then carry them out in the correct order (unlike a math problem or a science experiment which come with steps). How do you make sure your child has these skills? Start young and work them in your day to day activities.
Young children

• If you read a book to your child, ask questions about the content-what happened first, next, last. Use these temporal words.
• While setting the dinner table-give a narrative commentary-first you set the plate, second-place the spoon/fork/knife, third-glass of water, fourth-napkin…use the ordinals-even a 3 yr old can be exposed to first, second, third...comprehension is consolidated as they hear it used in multiple contexts.
• You can create sequencing cards for any activity by using google images. Make 4 sequence cards for young kids and gradually increase the complexity.

Remember the focus is on the skill-‘sequencing’ along with the content. To raise awareness of the importance of sequencing, ask questions in context-“what will happen if I forget one step?” While making dosa, skip one sequence or mix them up…and show what happens.

For older children-play

• a treasure hunt-where the kids have to follow a sequence to find the treasure;
• games where the kids have to follow multi step directions, increasing the number of commands as the game progresses;
• teach kids to fill weekly charts showing homework deadlines;
• mnemonics are great for sequencing skills (remember VIBGYOR for the rainbow?).

During the activities, make sure you give a narrative commentary (running commentary?). This is a very important skill that children use in organizing themselves-even adults use this strategy. If you model this behavior, your child will learn the same and it will aid him/her all through life.

Rama

 

Hi Raji
From what you mention, it sounds like your daughter needs help with the study skills part-there can be a lot of reasons for this. Whaatever the reason, teaching her the specific skills will help her.

Do talk to the professionals about any behavioral concerns to see if they have a different tke on it. I have Arundhati's contact info, fortunately the forum has everyone's number isted on their site-so I you can access other numbers as well. Meeting the child in person will give a better understanding of how much of the behavior is within the typical range and if/when she may need other assistance.

Are you a Private message user? I am and I think we've both got to be users to be able to send messages. Check out the forum information for the details.

Rama

 

HI Raji,

If you look up under FAQs, there is information on the private messages and paying for it...about 10$ p.a.

It is probably a good idea to call ahead of time and see if Arundhati or the others have an appt available around your trip dates.

To be the devil's advocate-experts' opinions/advice are culled from what parents and the general public do...the advantage is that there is a certain objectivity (not a 100% though) and because we see so many children in the course of our professional lives we may pick up on somethings faster than friends or family.
It is important to look at any advice from your point of view and see how relevant it is for your situation...no one knows the right answers all the time-it is mostly trial and error.

Trust your gut feeling and always start with basic intervention-if there is too much of 'do this or do that' children pick up on being treated differently...except for specific lack of skills, it is a good idea to let children make mistakes (without any danger to themselves) and learn from that process. That way they'll know how to avoid the same mistake or learn how to accept the consequences

Rama

 

Executive Function...
Prioritizing:
This is the skill we employ to identify how much time to spend on a each task, which step is important and needs to be done first. Our ability to prioritize allows us to plan our daily routine and to carry out tasks based on the routine.

In children, prioritizing teaches them to

• spend the right amount of time on an assignment (a question for 25 marks will need more details than a question for 2 marks; study for tomorrow’s test first and then prepare for next week’s test),
• carry out their daily routine-(complete homework before playing on the computer),
• identify the main points from a large text or from a lecture, etc.

Without these skills, managing the amount of information in higher classes will be very stressful.

A weekly planner helps with all plans for the week (including school trips, assignments, after school activities). For young children, it's a good idea for the parents to sit with them and pencil the activities. Older children may just need you to be around (to check that it is correct) while they complete the planner themselves.

If you want to look only at homework, using a weekly ‘Homework Assignment’ sheet helps your child keep track of deadlines and due dates. When there are two or more assignments due, suggest that he/she do the difficult or boring one first. Cue them on what needs to be done immediately and what can be delayed. “Maths is due tomorrow, so you must finish that first.”

There are always consequences if they miss deadlines or skip an assignment. Use your judgment-if you think your child will learn something from making the wrong choice, let the child make the mistake and do something else.. Be there to support them after the fact-“Now you know that you must do your History homework before going shopping.”

On the whole it is better to teach children to complete the task before drifting away to other enjoyable activities. As they grow older they will have to rely on their own selves, (college/hostel life), when too many distractions come their way.
Rama

 

Prioritizing contd...
Learning to prioritize teaches us how to study-unless we have an amazing memory, none of us can remember entire chapters. What do we do? We scan the information and highlight the main points! We read all of the text but remember these main points and elaborate on them during tests.

What strategies teach children how to identify the main points?

When you read to young children, ask questions about the plot. Stories have characters, setting and a problem (plot). The stories revolve around the characters solving the problem leading to the conclusion. Draw attention to these by asking questions like, “What did ABC do?” What was the problem? How did they (characters) solve the problem?”

A fun method to teach this is to use different versions of the same story-in fact now we get contemporary versions of fairy tales. These appeal to the kids' sense of humor and approach the same problem (in the plot) with very different outcomes. Besides the literary/language arts merits to this technique you can teach how the same problem is solved in different ways.

If you read non fiction, use the compare and contrast strategy…for example, say you read a book on rainforest animals. Animals in each layer have specific characteristics…pick one and discuss how different animals in the same layer approach this…if it is diet, talk about the herbivores and their adaptations, carnivores and their adaptations and the omnivores and how their body is suited to their dietary habits.

At the end, have them narrate what they learnt back to you...this reinforces the idea of looking for key information.

When helping with your child’s homework, use those key phrases-What is the author trying to get across? What is the main purpose of this experiment? What are the key events which lead to the first war of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Independence</st1lace></st1:City>? Then teach your child to highlight/underline the main points. Let them practice writing these down.

Rama

 

Organization:

For some of you vacation has started and you have to keep your children busy, plan trips, etc. For others, your children started the new school year and the days are filled with new events, new learning structure, people, etc. Here’s a painful question-how organized were you in the last few days? How did that affect everyone else in the family?

A few probably breezed through the days; others missed a few things but it wasn’t bad; some of you scrambled but still held it together, and I bet a few struggled. A lot of this depends on our schedule, unexpected events, health, etc. Chronic disorganization is a problem though.

Now look at a school student having to cope with new situations, adults, classmates, syllabus and all the pressure that goes with academic achievement. If the student is not organized what happens?

Start with the morning routine-book bag is not ready, homework is not complete, there is still at least one chapter for test prep, late for bus; at school-class notes are disjointed, no continuum; can’t find the proper instrument for geometry; no PE shoes; forgot lunch…the list goes on. The student is always catching up…never there!

Teaching organization skills:

Young children: Start young.

• Teach your children to put away toys after playing with them. Limit the number of toys taken out to play-if they have three things out, then they must put away one before bringing a new toy out to play.
• When you do art/craft activities, use a designated space. Same thing for any writing exercise.
• Have them pick out their clothes the night before and set it out ready to wear.
• Teach them to pack their bag (even if it is only tissues, water and lunch) the evening before.
• Have them check their bag for any notes, messages from their teachers every evening. Ask the question, “Did your teacher give you anything for us (parents)?”
• Set up one day a week to clear the room, bag and organize books, writing materials, etc.
• Set up time limits for activities and for the clean up routine. You don’t want your child to spend 15 minutes putting two books away. It means he/she is moving away from the routine.

Older children:

· Designate a study area-books, writing materials, all study materials should be nearby. This space should not be cluttered or open to distractions.
· Regular study time: Remember how your parents insisted you do homework at a certain time? Turns out that was good for you. Give your child a snack, a few minutes of rest and relaxation…then set up a study time. Same time everyday, even after extra curricular activities. If your child is enrolled in a long after school activity, shorten the study period (unless there is a lot of homework).
· Use “To Do Lists.” Teach your child to check items off as they get done. During exam time, make separate timetable showing periods of study and breaks. Use kitchen timers, alarms every time he/she takes a break. That way, if the timer is set for 15 mts the alarm will indicate that the break is over (both of you can hear it). There won’t be any, “Oh, I didn’t realize I watched TV for sooooo long.”
· Use weekly planners/diaries. Monitor your child while he/she records the activities/deadlines for the week. Then during study time, have your child read aloud what has to be done that day. You get to know what is due and he/she gets to hear it one more time.
· While doing homework, encourage your child to decide which assignment goes first, second, etc.
· After homework is completed, go over the day’s listings from the planner. Check to see if everything is done. You can also have a separate checklist that he/she can initial after completing the final check.
· Students have multiple books for the same subject-color code the notebook wrappers to make identification easy.
· Set up a routine to clean school bag every week. Check compass box, pencil box, etc to make sure all pieces are intact.
· Try to have the same bed time. Get bag, clothes, shoes, socks, etc the night before.
· Parents should try to be organized as well. This helps all children in the house. There will be less confusion and conflicts with different schedules.
r

 

Time, time, time...using time effectively is a crucial skill for academic success. How does one USE time? This requires an understanding or analysis, if you will, on how much time a given task will need. Making dinner for four needs more time than making dinner for two. Making sambhaar from scratch (including the powder) needs more time than the emergency sambhaar (don’t we all have one such recipe?).

Sounds like common sense, doesn’t it? And yet, not all children learn these skills incidentally. How often do we say, “You did the same thing last year! Why did you not learn from that mistake and start studying earlier?” I use studying as an example but children hear this refrain for lots of activities and events. Even professional with experience chalk this up to ‘indifference’ and ‘arrogance.’ You only have to look at some comments on teacher forums. Fortunately there are others who retort back, “I hope you are not a teacher.”

Children without time management skills have trouble setting and regulating the pace of their learning activities. Parents (irrespective of whether your child has a disability or not) should be aware of these skills as they translate into study skills. They can teach these skills through direct instruction in play and study situations, just as they work to teach children pre academic skills.

As mentioned in the earlier posts, use he appropriate language with your children. Take everyday activities like taking a bath, setting the table, etc. Break these down into smaller steps-turn the water heater on, get your clothes ready in the meantime, take a towel…
Now move on to estimation…how long should the water heater be on for-5 mts, 10 mts? How long should you shower for…5 mts, 10 mts? (as long as it takes isn’t the correct answer, I’m afraidJ)
Getting ready for dinner can increase the steps and complexity-put away toys, set the table, wash your hands…again try to estimate how long it will take. Then set a timer to see if your child under/over estimated the time.

Move on to academics.
What does the homework involve? First get study space ready, get materials ready, and then read directions to homework. What are the different steps there? How long will each step take? Write down your child’s estimation. Use a timer (if it causes anxiety, keep it near you. That way he/she won’t get distracted by it. For example, math homework for the day maybe 10 addition sums. If these are word problems, there is an additional step here…which will require more time. Similarly, social studies may require you to read a chapter, identify the timeline of events leading to a historical event, and then write it down.

Let your child do the work and then check with the timer-did he need more or less time? I read somewhere that an analog clock is a good visual prop to show passage of time (as opposed to just numbers on digital clocks). As your child gets a better understanding of time required for various activities, he/she will start internalizing these skills. That leads to better planning and execution.

Even though I’ve presented these skills separately, they impact one another all the time. There are other aspects to EF but students most often have difficulty in these areas. Does this sound like nitpicking and analyzing too much? Not really...unless adults (parents and teachers) plan to stand behind the kids well into adulthood, it is important to give them the skills they need for successful, independent functioning. Just think about how much impact success in academics and careers have on an individual's personal and social wellbeing.

In the case of children diagnosed with mental illness, they require direct instruction, continuous practice and over learning. It’s like getting batteries recharged-they have to use these skills constantly to retain them. There are very good resources on the web if you want to pass these on to your child’s teachers.


R