Emotional development is a big part of a childhood; it could in many ways define the child’s traits, social responses, and have a direct impact on their feelings as well. Some may think children are born with only three emotions – happiness, anger or fear; but studies claim that children are born with a wider range of feelings.  

School is a place where children learn to interact with their peers, absorb everything around them, and make friends. This is a place where they are independently responsible for their actions, reactions, and their social abilities. School is also a place where children thrive on emotions besides academic successes. Afterall, they spend most of their day in school.

Emotions play a key role for all when growing up. Children feel all emotions hard and also freely express them with no manipulation. Therefore, it’s imperative for parents and teachers to look for signs children are giving. It’s easy to tell when a child is happy, but there are days and instances where children may be in a different mood altogether. Children could experience bullying, betrayal, embarrassment, and unfair behavior from their peers or teachers. That said, we must pay close attention to their feelings, and what they have to say about their day at school. 

One of the approaches to handle the issue is to introduce mental health programs into the curriculum. These could help children understand the concept of mental health. There are many aspects of introducing the subject as part of the school curriculum. Children need to understand their own emotions and how they can get a hold on them.
Be it social anxiety, learning disability or adolescent depression, these issues are best resolved at an early stage. If not addressed, they can turn chronic and be a major influence in one’s life. Mentally healthy students are likely to have a positive approach to learning and people around them. We need children to actively engage in student activities, have supportive and caring connections, and imbibe appropriate problem-solving skills.

The way a district or school approaches mental health services may vary but they can evolve on the go. The key reasons to make mental health a part of the curriculum include:

💭 Increase Mental Health Awareness

This not only involves children to cope with their emotions but also lets them know that mental health is a big part of overall health and wellbeing. It is vital for children to maintain positive mental health to focus on academics, sports, music, and other curricula.

💭 Recognise mental health-related issues

One of the ways to improve mental health is the ability to recognise related issues. When issues are left untreated it could negatively influence the child’s growth and development. It is vital for us to support children with the right tools and resources to help them cope with mental health issues.

💭 Early intervention can change perspective

Mental health awareness may not only change the life of the one coping with an issue but the people around them. It can encourage people to have the right attitude and make good choices of words when addressing someone. It strengthens abilities like stress tolerance and resilience among children.

💭 Create an accessible environment

While negating the stigma attached with mental health among young and adults, mental health programs can encourage children to freely express their feelings. Be it anger, fear, helplessness, or jealousy, children need to know it’s okay to feel these emotions, and this is the first step towards building a coping mechanism towards illnesses.

Schools have the ability to encourage mental health among students, teachers, and parents. It has a myriad of benefits that contribute to the wellbeing of one and all.

Square Panda recognises the need for holistic development among the Indian education system, for it’s key to better learning outcomes. A child with a positive mental space has a better capacity to cope with academics and other curricular activities.    

Children and parents tend to focus on academics more than anything. Thankfully, they have taken to sports, music, and other curricular activities that are well supported by parents and teachers alike. However, it is important for parents and teachers to recognise the significance of core life skills that come in handy for every individual.

Teaching critical life skills (without any gender bias) to children at an early age can help them grow into a more responsible, self-reliant adult. It is important to shape their habits from a young age and it could start with something as simple as gathering their own toys.

It is practicing small habits that go a long way, help children be more organized and learn to prioritize better in their growing years. Imparting simple skills like cleaning up after themselves, filling their own bottle, or putting their dishes in the kitchen after a meal make for a great start.

There are myriad benefits of teaching life skills to kids. They begin to understand their responsibilities better, they react responsibly in social situations, and develop a mechanism to be independent in all situations. They need to be encouraged into thinking they are enough for themselves.

Here’s a list of important life skills that can be imparted among children;

💡 1. Meal preparation  

Encourage your child to help out in the kitchen, introduce them to the concept of meal preparation. The child can begin with helping out a parent in preparing a meal for themself. From sourcing the required vegetables from the fridge to thoroughly washing them, and putting them together in a pan; kids can participate and observe at every step of the prep. Invest in an age-appropriate ladder, where your child can safely stand alongside you. When children actually witness the effort that goes into curating a meal, their perspective towards a meal will also be much more respectful. They recognise the effort that goes into preparing and would want to finish what is served. The habit of helping out in the kitchen can make them more independent to fetch food for themselves; at the least they could make themselves a bowl of fruit.

💡 2. Health and Hygiene

Health and hygiene habits go a long way. This is a habit that can be inculcated among children at a young age. This real life skill is a must for individuals of all ages. Make it a practise for them to wash their hands before eating anything, ask them to keep their play area clean, study table organized, and they should get into the habit of taking a shower every morning and after play time. Guide them to put their clothes in the washer, let them fold their washed clothes and place them in its appropriate place. This can be practised on a daily basis so they understand the concept of wearing washed clothes.           

💡 3. Problem Solving

Refrain from helping children out with putting together an outfit for the day, let them independently complete the puzzles, refuse to repair their toys or even replace the broken ones. This will encourage a habit to learn to solve their own problems. They will learn how to fix their toys, put together a puzzle, and rather learn to take care of their belongings better. This is a huge step towards imbibing responsible behavior.

💡 4. Decision making

Let the children pick out their own outfits, select their choice of ice cream, and meals whenever possible. Simple habits like these will make children confident to make their own decisions. These small decisions give the children confidence to make sound decisions in life, imparting responsible behaviour in their adult life.

💡5. Household chores

Small chores like cleaning their own rooms, organising their study, and cleaning up the table after a meal are some simple chores that children can help out with. These habits will give children a sense of responsibility and encourage them to independently get more done around the house.                               
Use this checklist of life skills to begin imparting simple responsibilities among children. These are some critical life skills that will come in handy and make a smooth transition from adolescence to adulthood. It’s important to begin early so children get into the habit of doing their chores independently.

Square Panda believes in holistic development that focuses on developing skills, good habits, using effective resources, and imbibing best practices to grow into more responsible individuals. Focusing on academics sits at the core for every growing child but it needs to be accompanied with core life skills and good values.    

Internet usage has become an indispensable part of our lives, and nowhere is this more evident than in the education sector. In the wake of the recent global pandemic, children solely relied on the internet to continue their education. Moreover, children today perceive the web as a useful resource for information, an opportunity to explore – it offers a sense of self-expression and entertainment. However, the entertainment activities of children are evolving in the digital world. Pedagogical models that address this need are still fluid, where lack of privacy and personal safety have become important issues.

With the growing internet trend, there are growing concerns about cyberbullying, identity theft, and privacy rights violations. The threat of cyberattacks is real, especially considering how much personal data is stored and shared on the cloud. Despite the dangers that come with posting personal information online, teenagers may be unaware about these risks. 

The NordVPN Security Report 2021 shows that India stands behind other countries when it comes to cybersecurity, scoring 14 points below the global benchmark. This makes schools, universities and educational institutions more responsible for incorporating cybersecurity in education to better prepare students for the threats they may face. 

🖥️ Importance of Cybersecurity in Education

Today, everything is connected via cloud. Your phone has an IP address and links to your email account. You can access your bank account online or pay bills with your smartphone. This means that if someone intends to steal your money or identity, they don’t have to do it physically. All they have to do is hack into your computer system. Hackers use many different types of attacks against people and companies. Some of these include denial-of-service (DOS) attacks, phishing schemes, spoofing emails and social engineering techniques like pretexting (pretending to be someone else). These attacks usually aim to gain access to sensitive information so that it can be used for identity theft or financial gain.

The only way to address these concerns is to emphasize cybersecurity in  education at young ages. The problem is that most parents and children view cybersecurity as a technical skill, not an academic one. However, cybersecurity is more than just knowing how to code: it’s about understanding how people behave online and how to use technology ethically. By giving the right exposure, at a young age, children will better understand how to handle information that comes their way. 

A high-school-level cyber security course would teach students how to identify, prevent and defend themselves against attacks on the internet and the computer devices they use. This IT education also teaches students how to protect systems from attacks that can cause financial losses, data loss, and identity theft as well as encryption techniques and how to respond if a cyberattack occurs.

Below are three reasons why cybersecurity in education curriculum will help students:

🖥️ Cyber Security is an in-demand field that presents many Career Options

A study reveals that there are currently over 3.4 million open jobs in the field of cybersecurity. The main reason is that technology continues to evolve rapidly. A large part of what makes these jobs so important is the technology itself. More devices have been connected to the internet in the last few years than ever before, creating a connected network that can be used for good or ill. The sheer number of things that can be controlled remotely adds complexity to any network. This means there is an increased demand for people with technical expertise who can keep up with the latest innovations and remain ahead of the curve.

In addition, organizations are now beginning to take security more seriously than ever before. It is no longer just a side thought – it is one of the most critical factors when developing new products; especially regarding data security and consumer privacy. As a result, there is a wide range of opportunities for those interested in this field.

🖥️ Cyber Security Jobs Pay High Salaries

Because of the proliferation of malware and other cyber attacks, companies are looking for ways to protect their data. As a result, they’re turning to cyber security experts to ensure their confidential data remains protected from an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape. And since there is already a shortage of qualified professionals in the field, those opting for this career path earn high salaries. 

While cybersecurity programs are gaining importance and popularity in workplaces across the country, high school cybersecurity is not yet a well-established curriculum. However, the benefits of such a program create an exciting and profitable field for young people to explore and promote the correct use of technology in all sectors of society.

🖥️ The Bottom Line

While it’s understandable that parents might be wary of their children taking up such a ‘risky’ subject, it’s important to note that cybersecurity is still a very hands-on field. It won’t be long before one in every few IT professionals will work in this thriving industry. As more and more educational programs recognize the necessity of such a curriculum, the gap will narrow and hopefully close over time. 

Mother tongue impacts a child’s learning abilities and mastery of any language. With the constant growth of English as a global language, students need to learn English as a core subject in school. This applies especially to students who do not speak English at home. Yet, in India, millions of children enter school with little or no command over the English language. Additionally, in India, teaching standards and professional development programs for teachers are inadequate because most teachers are not trained or qualified to teach English as a core language. This is why we need to upskill our teachers so that they can effectively guide students to improve their proficiency in English. 

🖊️ Why is there a need for English Proficiency among Teachers?

Conversational English is still considered the language of high culture in most parts of India and throughout Asia. And with the commercialization of the language, many educators in the country feel that it should be prioritized over local languages in schools. But as English-medium instruction has recently gained popularity, some parents see it as an elitist method that splits students into two categories: those who can speak English and those who cannot. Those who favor local languages worry that their children will struggle to compete with others if they don’t learn English.

The challenge of teaching English as a second language is even greater in the education system than it is in everyday life, because teachers must teach students new vocabulary, punctuation, and grammar structures—while also maintaining a tight schedule for covering all the material required by national curricula.

If teachers do not have an adequate command over the English language themselves, they will not be able to model correct pronunciation or writing conventions, nor will they be able to communicate ideas clearly to their students. They may end up changing their native-language speech patterns in order to avoid errors or embarrassment—which could lead to even greater errors being made by their students.

🖊️ NEP 2020

The NEP 2020 asserts that it is vital to teach students local and regional languages. Focusing on core competencies, the NEP views the individual’s overall development as essential to national development. Furthermore, it rightly emphasizes the role of education for parents and children and aims to strike a balance between learning different languages while focussing on the importance of English. 

India possesses a large proportion of youth who are raring to be used in the workforce. These youth will become the movers and shakers of the world’s largest democracy, with its influence seeping into almost every facet of the global economy. Therefore, we must create educational systems that will encourage India’s future generations to develop skills, including linguistic proficiency, that are critical for success.

To effectively learn a language, students need a variety of learning tools. These include adequate exposure to appropriate models for pronunciation, communication opportunities, and timely feedback on their progress. To be an effective English language teacher, a teacher needs to be proficient in using English themselves. Therefore, teachers should be trained to deliver quality teaching. They should not just focus on imparting appropriate pedagogical techniques and skills, but they should also work on their own language proficiency.

🖊️ How can Schools Prepare Teachers for Learning English?

To ensure that learners deliver eloquent English, teachers need to refine the manner in which they deliver English lessons. The knowledge of all those new words and phrases is useless unless the students can apply them easily. Therefore, teachers must know how to speak correctly, learn how to structure sentences, and choose their words well. 

Public and private schools in India need to develop an action plan that helps teachers to upskill themselves by providing them with the necessary training. Some of these upskilling programs are already in place and need support so that new teachers can participate.

The first step is an online platform for pre-service teachers that allows them to learn from expert educators. Since the pandemic, access to online learning has increased among students, who can access real-time information about their classes, teachers and peers. The same opportunities should be given to new teachers, who need access to resources to help them learn what they need before they even step into a classroom. The second step is creating a network of existing teacher trainers, especially those practicing in international schools, who have experience and can share their ideas with aspiring Indian teachers.

Square Panda India has implemented various teacher training programs emphasizing fundamental level concepts such as phonetics and vocabulary building through speech, games, and activities. To know more visit https://squarepanda.in/