Deck the halls with crayons and notebooks ... tra-la-la-la’ could very well be the theme song of August and September as it seems the whole world rushes headlong into the commercial urgency of Back-to-School mania.
I remember my daughters – the family – preparing for the new school year. It was a fairly simple affair with new books to be covered in brown paper and labelled, new stationery to refill the pen and pencil boxes, a calculator for the senior one and uniforms and shoes.
Did I say a simple affair? Well, even this cost a pretty penny so imagine the concern of parents who have to help present-day students to navigate peer pressure to ace the swag test with the latest satchels, brand-name shoes and devices. New laptops and device upgrades have become an annual must-have for school-goers and they don’t come cheap.
Little wonder that parents hardly think of an annual student health check before the new school term. Children are expected to be healthy and unless a problem knocks the family over, preventive checks are considered unnecessary and a waste of money.
But poor eyesight, deficient hearing, neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD, anxiety disorder and learning difficulties such as dyslexia plague the student population and can impact their ability to learn and process knowledge. It can also stymie their social standing. In the heated American election scene, we recently saw how many jumped to defend vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz’s family and 17-year old son Gus from the scorn of thoughtless trollers using his special neurodivergent needs to mock his father.
A health assessment can support measures to address such problems and create a more inclusive classroom.
The thing is, putting in place a system to check on children’s health need not be expensive. Bahrain has a world-class public healthcare system and a network of well-equipped health centres. If the Education Ministry mandates a health certificate for the new school year and gives parents the option of using the government centres or private healthcare facilities, the work can be divided. To level the playing field, government should mandate a cap on the student health check charges and NHRA can outline the mandatory checks that must be included, given the age demographic of this much younger group.
And while we are at it, should we not talk about mental health? Each year, there are needless self-harm and suicide cases of youth who are unable to withstand the pressure and stress of school or college – the peer pressure to conform even while they are pushed to outshine others (which involves being better and different), the bullying, social media anxiety. And towards the end of their academic cycle there is the immense pressure to ace the exams with ridiculously high grades, join only blue-chip institutions, make irrevocable career decisions which are often heavily influenced by parental pressure, at least for Asian families.
Are parents, teachers and counsellors even aware of the exciting new careers that today’s children can choose from? Careers which don’t need cram schools from eighth grade and a faultless 99 per cent pass mark? You can choose to be a leisure specialist who trains people in sports, offers sports medicine advise, creates games online, teaches fitness or dancing ... the list in leisure alone is massive. These choices did not exist two decades ago.
Prepping for the new academic year is more than shopping. Families must learn to watch out for and support best qualities, correct health issues and arm themselves and the children for a healthy mental journey. That is what Back-to-School should stand for.
meeraresponse@gmail.com
&uuid=(email))