Teachers concerned about self-harm in schools warn parents to pay maximum attention

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Teachers concerned about self-harm in schools warn parents to pay maximum attention
Teachers concerned about self-harm in schools warn parents to pay maximum attention

Africa-Press – Cape verde. The self-mutilation of students in different schools in the city of Praia has been the main concern of teachers who warn that parents and guardians must pay maximum attention to the “weird” behavior of their children.

According to experts contacted by Inforpress, in most cases, self-mutilation in adolescents is a reflection of an inability to deal with their own feelings, such as anguish, fears, sadness and conflicts, which is why they see this “dangerous” practice as the quickest way out. to alleviate this “intense suffering”.

Given the situation experienced in different schools in this city, some teachers approached by Inforpress expressed concern, considering that parents, also educators and managers, should take a cautious approach to students who show these signs.

However, as this is a delicate topic, the teachers with whom Inforpress spoke did not want to be identified, not out of fear, as they explained, but to protect the image of the school and students, understanding, however, that the problem should not be hidden, rather, solutions must be sought to prevent greater evils from happening within the educational community.

“It is a practice that is becoming common, quite worrying, accentuated in adolescence, especially in girls, who have marks of self-harm, for example, on their arms”, says Adelaide (fictitious name), with some concern.

Considering that the family support of the student who goes through or has gone through this problem is “important”, she describes that in her class she came across students wearing coats in the hot sun, which aroused some concern in her which, as she noted, indicates that they were hiding something .

Another teacher also defended a careful approach to students in these circumstances, analyzing that many of them practice self-harm because they do not have someone to trust, whether in schools, in emotional and family relationships, to talk to, share their problems, feelings, pain, anguish or emotions.

“The school, the teachers, can play the role of counselor, listening, listening and alerting students to the consequences of this practice, asking for help, in order to support these boys and prevent the worst from happening. I always try to talk to my students when I see them a little isolated, silent or distant”, commented the teacher.

Recalling a case, he said that the isolation of one of the students, her sad and distant appearance, her lack of interest in group work, made her worry that something was not going well.

“We were talking and in our conversation, she opened up to me, saying that she thinks she is ugly and when she looks in the mirror she doesn’t like her image”, she says, appealing to parents to pay more attention to their children, to small signs, because as the popular adage says “Jesus is before the fall”.

On the other hand, Elvira (fictitious name), another teacher, points to the situation of “bullying” in schools as a “serious problem, a trigger”, as she emphasized, which can also lead to the practice of self-mutilation by children and adolescents.

“There are students who are targets of persecution from groups that promote ‘bullying’, which could lead to low self-esteem. The school, teachers, security, everyone… we must be alert, observe during activities, inside and outside the classroom, this type of aggression on the part of students, take the necessary precautions and measures, in order to eliminate the problem and at the same time, provide a healthy school environment”, he said.

Faced with this problem, teachers understand that this reality experienced in different schools cannot be hidden, “putting the rubbish under the carpet”, rather, looking for solutions, promoting intervention plans in order to help teenagers overcome self-mutilation and avoid negative impacts of this practice.

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