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By Shivanthi Ranasinghe/Ceylon Today
Colmbo, June 5: Experts are warning that 34 per cent of those who have sought psychiatric help in the post-Covid-19 pandemic are below 19 years of age. Doctors are apparently baffled by these unprecedented numbers. The distress symptoms include unrestrained anger, especially towards parents, lack of interest in studies, moving away from reality to ‘virtual unreality’, and aggressive behaviors including suicidal tendencies.
Incidentally, the spike in numbers with these kinds of symptoms in children was after two years of online school. Therefore, the use of electronic devices is suspected to be the culprit. However, whether the use of electronic devices is the only cause or even the cause for this high rate of depression among children is questionable. Sometimes, the most suspicious is the least culpable.
Education Before Online Schooling
If an average child’s schooling before the pandemic was mapped, it would be as follows:
• Wake up by at least 5.30-6.00 am
• Leave home for school at least by 6.30-7.00 am.
More than the timings, the main problem is that most children start their day without a proper breakfast. For most children, this important meal consists of a bun with a dubious filling that has a hint of fish and vegetables, but loaded with potatoes or a bowl of cereal. These meals are innocuous but lacking in adequate nutrition.
A growing child needs a meal rich in protein as that can be provided with a ladle or two of pulses. Not a difficult meal to prepare, though might be a difficult one to convince a child to have on a regular basis. Even a bowl of cereal is lacking unless it is accompanied with a fruit such as a banana.
The school curriculum is more focused on subjects such as mathematics, languages and science. Subjects that hone creativity such as art and robotics and subjects that relaxes the mind such as music and drama are spread very thinly and far apart in the weekly timetable. Gardening, needle craft and other vocational skills are almost nonexistent in the current curriculum.
Time for physical activity such as games or playing with peers is limited to the minimum possible. Even physical education is now more theory -based than actually working out in the open air. When it comes to sport, schools and parents alike are now more interested in the competitive value of a child.
A good example would be swimming. We live on an island surrounded by the ocean, thickly veined with rivers and streams and dotted with lakes. Yet, swimming is not considered as a skill but a sport. Not all children can be competitive swimmers. Yet, if the child fails to show potential to be in the school squad or participate in swimming competitions, the interest to teach the child this vital skill wanes. Thus, time in the pool is not about frolicking in the water but doing the laps to the timer.
Some children excel in these subjects focused by the school curriculum. However, most struggle to achieve 90 plus or the coveted 100 percent mark. Even those who achieve on average the 70-80 percent mark, grow up feeling that they are not “quite up to the mark”. The absence of other subjects means that they do not have the opportunity to prove otherwise or even feel a sense of accomplishment or achievement.
In effect, from primary education onwards, children are forced to sit for hours to take down notes, memorize and work out math problems. This literally works, that tax the brain. It is indeed curious that our pediatricians and psychologists have not factored the mental fatigue afflicted by this regimental-like training.
After school, children literally rush to their after-school activities. These consist mainly of tutoring the very subjects that they were engaged in at school. On average, a child has two such after-school classes per day and the weekend is also packed with more classes. At the end of the day, a child is loaded with homework from both the school and the private tutors.
Most contentiously, in the rush to get to these after-school classes and activities, children do not get a proper lunch break. Children could be seen wolfing their lunches still standing or on the run. Thus, even a rice-based lunch often is in a small box, all tossed and muddled.
It is ironic that mothers fuss and often over-feed toddlers. Yet, when the same toddler grows into a child and a teenager, marks take precedence over meals.
Dinner might be the only meal a child can actually sit and eat without rushing. That is however not to say that a child is finally free to relax. Such a luxury is often not possible as there is a mountain of homework and revision waiting to be done before the next day. Sadly, when diligent children hit the pillow it is nearly midnight. Whatever happened to the eight-hour sleep requisite?!?
Life After Online Learning
Unfortunately, online teaching has exacerbated this torture for the children. Before online teaching became a thing, tuition classes could not practically proceed beyond 8 p.m. However now, online classes can continue late into the night or begin at indecently early hours. As such, some classes begin as late as 10 p.m. or even as early as 3 a.m.
Are e-devices the real problem?
One parent, analysing the unnatural bond children are forming with their devices made an interesting observation. As adults, our lives, inundated with responsibilities and obligations, are quite hectic. Therefore, we have a tendency to hand over electronic devices to our young children to keep them occupied.
Consequently, the attachment a child should form with the parent is transferred to the device. The child thus grows seeking and finding comfort and reassurance from the devices than parents or other human touch. Hence, it is of little wonder a child reacts violently when the device is taken away.
While there is much logic in this argument, it can also be contested. Life for an adult couple of generations ago too was extremely busy and children did not necessarily grow up whilst attached to the mother’s hip. In fact, one may even venture that mothers then were ‘less involved’ with the child’s life than present day mothers.
Instead of electronic devices, children then too had distractions that can be solitary as reading, playing with blocks, Lego or puzzles. Some children could not be made to put down their books and were as anti-social as the kid hooked on computer games.
The main difference between then and now is that the parents of yesteryear were not as involved in children’s school life as parents of today. Today, the level of micromanaging children’s life is horrendous. Parents of the present are known to object to their child being disciplined at school and do not hesitate to get involved in fights with other classmates.
However, the question remains as to why now. Children were not in this pressure cooker environment since the pandemic. This has been a gradually growing problem for decades. Then, the question arises as to what was the catalyst for children to display the kind of unrestrained anger, resentment, aggressiveness and hatred towards parents (authorities), school and life in general.
Perhaps, the problem goes beyond the pandemic, lockdown and online schooling. Soon after the pandemic, we had the anti-government protests. These protests that were promoted as peaceful were filled with profanity, vulgarity, indecency, and anger, which was spiraling into violence.
Very foolishly, children were also involved in these protests. They thus saw the way their parents handled a problem. The parallel is very clear between the anti-government protestors’ behavior and these children’s protests over issues they find disagreeable.
Way Forward
Deepika Dassenaike, Principal at Ladies’ College recently initiated a very progressive curriculum called LC Stars. This is not targeting any category of children. It is aimed at connecting the education curriculum with the current economy.
As such, this new curriculum focuses on subjects such as agriculture, art, dance, and music from traditional to digital, culinary, and apparel. Business studies is also a subject, but it is more of a hands-on method where children are to learn through various experiences that capture everyday financial decisions.
Science is not part of the curriculum. However, various exercises are to be included that build an awareness of the environment we live. For instance, one exercise would be to study the home’s current electricity bill. The next step would be to discuss ways to reduce it and convince household members to adapt it. The final step would be to study the effect these changes had on the subsequent electricity bills.
More than the curriculum, these children work in groups. This builds teamwork and comradeship.
As it is not a compulsory program, the number that have joined this program is still small. Ladies’ College is however not deterred and is working very hard to make this program a success.
Though this new program is just under six months, parents of those who have joined this new curriculum are amazed by the change in their children’s attitude towards school and personal development. These children are more enthusiastic and excited to attend school and of their studies. Perhaps because the group is small or the pressure is off and learning is made fun, there is a tighter bond within this group. There is a visible blossoming of confidence in these girls.
Principal Dassenaike must be saluted for taking such a bold and revolutionary step. Both the Education Ministry and the psychologists must study LC Stars and its effects. The nations certainly could do with this kind of progressive program.
(ranasingheshivanthi@gmail.com)
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