Cyber bullying and the fast-paced educational environment are taking its toll on every student, causing them stress that could affect their psychological state. This prompted teachers to undergo trainings to detect if a student could be plagued with a mental health illness like depression.
20 percent of teenagers are at higher risk to have mental health problems while some already have it, as per Cardinal Innovations health care workers. In fact, there is a 50 percent chance that mental illnesses can start at the age of 14.
Teachers' Training To Spot Mental Health Problems
According to Time Warner Cable News, Timothy Simmons, along with other group of educators, trained teachers to watch their pupils' behavior. Through this, they could see if students are having mental health issues and give them the proper care they would need.
The practice is an attempt to reduce the number of students affected by the condition. Teachers revealed the training is to protect their students, who are experiencing "old-age challenges."
Schools are using Affective Social (AS) Tracking to show students certain scenes that could reveal how will they act in a situation. This, too, can show their ways of thinking and how it will affect their behavior.
Pupils feel more pressured in today's "academic environment" that some find harder to cope with. Anthony Baker, Assistant Principal at Western Middle School in the Alamance-Burlington School System, explained that teachers are spending more time with students compared to their parents.
Teachers As Effective Counselors
Teachers could be the one who could help their pupils effectively. Anthony Baker is hoping that this practice could be employed by other schools to check their students and offer help to those in danger of developing mental illnesses.
"Bullying now follows you home. It's on your computer," Simmons said. "On your iPad, it's on Twitter, Facebook, follows them home. So they don't get a chance to get away from it."
As of writing, there are 15 schools trying to support teachers in recognizing if their students are at risk of suicidal tendencies or if they could possibly resort to teenage drug use. There are also 30 educational institutions that have already been adopting the practice, the Telegraph reported.
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