Undoubtedly, Teachers are the most vital unsung heroes who had continuously explored the multifaceted responsibilities, few of which are still under the veil and act as an intangible concept to the population. But the truth is way beyond the imagination. Teachers had always played different roles in a student’s life that may be mother, friend, inspiration, guide, mentor, etc but the most important one is A Counsellor. A teacher constantly counsels the students not just career counselling but psychological counselling and mental health counselling as well. In this blog GD Goenka Boarding School, Rohtak explains about the varied roles of a teacher hidden under the curtain.
- Creating a Safe and Inclusive Environment:
Teachers builds trust and promotes an inclusive classroom environment which provides students a sense of security, feel accepted, valued, acknowledged and are absolutely comfortable in expressing themselves and raising any sought of query. Thus, the feeling of healthy mental satisfaction develops when the students are welcomed with the warm and positive learning environment along with a trustworthy teacher.
- Recognizing Signs of Struggle:
Generally, all teachers are born with this strong sense and instinct that they can easily make out the changes in behaviour, participation in class or non-attentive nature of the student which are the key indicators of mental health challenges. Therefore, teachers have this most easy way of approachable attitude where students share their full heart with the teacher they are comfortable with and this is how teachers are aligned to the emotional well-being of their students.
- Providing Emotional Support:
Emotional Support especially during adolescent age plays a prominent role in a student’s life where a teacher plays that role for the student and serves as a rock solid to emotionally support the students by guiding them in their personal and academic life both. The two major skills required in this process are actively listening to the concerns and feelings of the student by being a non-judgemental one and expressing sensibility by understanding their words and acts and acknowledging that their emotions are true and fair.
- Integrating Mental Health Education:
Mental Health Education is the most basic step which serves as a precaution for any individual dealing with the problems. The Educators are brilliant and intellectual enough that they integrate the education of mental health in the lessons of their curriculum which makes it convenient and comfortable for the students also to understand the practical approach of it. Besides this the educators share relevant and informative content related to mental health to the students.
- Encouraging Stress-Reduction Techniques:
The existence and application of various stress reduction techniques have changed the scenario for teachers and other individuals to cope up with mental health problems. Teachers help the students in practicing activities such as Meditation, breathing exercises, mindfulness etc which helps in real stress reduction. Also, teachers always focus on explaining and adding time management skills to students in their routine so that they are able to alleviate academic pressure and contribute to their mental well-being.
- Collaborating with Mental Health Professionals:
The professionals are the ultimate resort for any problem, just as the doctor is professional for the medical treatments, lawyers are professional for law advices, similarly mental health professionals such as Counsellors, Psychologists, Psychiatrists are the specialists for dealing with mental health problems.
Teachers have good relations with these professionals and they establish a clear referral to them when they see any case which requires more in-depth knowledge of it and ensures a well setup channel of communication to share the basic details of the case.
Conclusion-
Teachers are the best examples of emotional intelligence as they demonstrate empathy, active listening and understanding throughout their day which as a practical approach encourage students to develop their emotional intelligence. In Best Boarding Schools in North India, teachers act as a family to the students who contribute towards the holistic development of the child. Teachers are the biggest influencers in every student’s lives who play multiple roles to shape their future and navigate their life both academically and personally. Thus the duty of a teacher is not just delivering the knowledge of the subject but more importantly delivering the moral values, empathy, self-care, intellectuality, positivity and much more.