Ministry of education focuses on the mental health of our students

BY PAUL JUNOR

On Wednesday, August 21^st the Ministry of Education released its much anticipated and expected revision to the 2017 Elementary and Physical Education (HPE), titled, “2019 Elementary Health and Physical Education Curriculum Help Keep Kids Safe.” This title was chosen because it highlights the emphasis that the ministry has placed on: safety, health and well-being. According to the Ministry’s website this was the provinces largest consultation on education that reflected public feedback, research and advice from experts. One wonders about the accuracy of this statement as a lot of the feedback was obtained from online surveys and public town hall meetings.

This revised curriculum was released just in time for the new school year which starts on September 3^rd to ensure that students are exposed to an “enhanced and inclusive” curriculum that will provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to lead, safe, healthy and active lives. This is done by focusing on areas such as: concussions, effects of and risks of vaping, and cannabis, cyber safety (including bullying prevention and digital privacy), healthy body image, healthy relationship (including consent), and an important focus mental health (including social–emotional learning skills).

The changes to the health and physical education curriculum resulted in the context of a report that was released by the government titled, “Education that Works for You.” The purpose of this report was to better prepare students for the demands of the future, and to plan for the modern classroom. This new plan is intended to modernize and empower educators to better prepare students in innovative way. These reports provide the basis for the government approach in the design of this revised curriculum

The emphasis on the importance of mental health in this revised curriculum is a welcome one. There is no doubt that learning about mental health is essential for elementary kids as they are at that stage in their lives where they can acquire knowledge and skills that can help them develop positive coping and resilience strategies to deal with the: challenges, stress, and complexities of their daily lives.

By connecting mental health to physical and emotional health, kids are able to: understand their social, emotional and cognitive world, and to become familiar with signs and symptoms of stress. Students will also learn how to access sources of help and developing advocacy skills. Elementary children will learn about social emotional learning (SEL) skills that will help them to: foster their own overall health and well-being, learn about positive mental health, and have the ability to learn and thrive. These distinct skills are emphasized so that kids can apply them to their every day school, home, and community lives. They are intended to ensure students gain “transferable skills” and resilience and self-worth.