Phobia in a simple sense means fear. It is a type of anxiety or disorder. Apart from common phobias like Hydrophobia, Catoptrophobia(fear of mirrors), Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), school refusal is a frequently noticed phobia nowadays. Many children are found to be afraid of school, and refuse to go to school for pretty reasons like headache and stomach ache.
If the child does not like going to school, there are usually some psychological reasons behind. Some of the symptoms of school phobia may be frequent stomachaches, nausea, exhaustion, or headaches that cannot be attributed to any physical ailment, clinginess, tantrums, and/or panic when separated from a parent or caregiver. [break]
sreekanthsonu.blogspot.com
When a child refuses to go to school, it could be so because he/she has made a mistake at school, or is suffering from unnecessary burden and irritations. Whatever may be the reason, parents should try to know their children by keenly observing their behaviors at home and by being their friends.
One reason for children being afraid of schools might be that they do not have friends they can relate to. Their areas of interests and conversation do not match. This will create loneliness for your child. Parents can easily find out if this is the case. All they need to do is watch if their child has friends or not. It can be evaluated through the number of phone calls your child receives, or through his/her interaction in team sports.
It can also be that the child is lagging behind in studies and it is difficult for him/her to catch it. If a child of a middle class family is admitted to a posh school, the child may feel inferior to others. The environment of the school, friends’ circle, study stress can all be reasons for a child’s hatred of school. I remember my sister who always used to cry before going to school. Later, when she changed her school, the problem was solved and her studies improved as well.
Although today’s schools have more facilities and extracurricular activities than ever before, more children are reported to have school phobia. On the other hand, the child may be comfortable performing these very same activities outside of school, like practice hobbies, play computer games, watch movies, ride with friends, or learn autodidactically. Parents should look for the reasons rather than fiercely dragging the child to the school.
Steps need to be taken both at home and school to overcome this phobia. Schools should have counselor who establish a caring relationship with the child. Use of behavior contracts to be reinforced with rewards such as stickers can be helpful for small children. Some other ways to overcome school refusal would be to help the child build self-confidence by discovering his or her strengths, by providing opportunities for the child to excel, identifying activities the child enjoys doing and activities that produce anxiety, and adjusting work assignments to match the student’s academic skills. At home, eliminating any “fun” activities when school is in session, making provision of play dates with classmates to encourage friendships, and attending school related activities are helpful steps.
Finally, the major problem regarding the education system in Nepal is that we focus only on theoretical knowledge, which handicaps us when we have to compete in the external world. There are definitely more entertaining ways to teach children how to learn. For example, it would be a good idea if, when we say “A for Apple,” we show children a real apple.
Instead, we compel them to mug up. It continues at the secondary level, where children mug up the life cycle of fern, but I wonder how many of them would recognize a fern if they saw one. Showing children the practical side of academics is a good way of getting them interested in school.
It is normal for a teacher to not notice every student in the class, but this creates discrimination. We need a smaller ratio of teachers to students, so that each child can be given the proper notice he/she deserves.
Teachers should be friendly with students. I remember my school, where a teacher used to check our vests and punish us if it was not white. All the students used to hate the teacher. What does it matter what color the vest is, as long as our shirts are clean? Checking nails and handkerchief is fine, but checking inner wear? Schools should never implement such stupid rules which simply create pressures for students. Homework and class work should be limited so that they do not unnecessarily burden students.
School and parents are equally responsible for school phobia in students. A mutual understanding between child, teacher and parents is necessary to lead the assets of nation to the correct path. Parent-teacher interaction on a regular basis can do a lot to solve the problem.
The author is a reviewer and freelance writer.
kengb1@gmail.com
Related story
Living with fear
