Reader opinion When a little schoolboy is symptomatic, the teacher has to grab the phone

Opinion|Reader’s opinion

Helsingin sanomat newspaper has published meritorious perspectives on the challenges of early childhood education. High school reform has also received attention and a voice from both teachers and young people themselves. But where does research data and interviews that focus on schoolchildren between the ages of 6 and 12 linger?

I work in a primary school in the Helsinki metropolitan area and I see more and more worrying child nausea year after year. There are several reasons for this. In large classes that have been caught for reasons of savings, the teacher’s student knowledge remains limited. Until ten years ago, with class sizes of less than 20 students, each child and their guardians became familiar, and there was time for so-called tripartite discussions.

During the day, the teacher had time to observe the children, record the observations and pass them on to the school community actors and families. The path of needy support was easy and natural to build.

Now, the gradual recording of support measures in Wilma will take time until exhaustion, but the quality of support itself will not improve, as schools will not have the resources. Families are confused and frustrated by bureaucratic slowdowns and delays in getting help.

Now, due to the corona epidemic, close contacts in schools are limited. Only by communicating on Wilma or sending “color badges” will the mutual interaction between school and home go unhelpful.

When a child is symptomatic, the first thing to do is grab the phone and ask the caregivers when it would be a good time to talk. Talking is always a better way to find out about a child’s situation than messages tapped in an emergency.

The teacher cannot know the root cause of a child with symptoms in the classroom or his or her changed behavior. When a child in the morning pulls on a big black hoodie to cover and presses against those who cannot reach the desk, the theory of sentences does not sink into fatigue. Is the reason for uncontrolled screen time on non-age-appropriate content? Is it a situation of family conflict under separation or financial pressure, perhaps the violence seen or perceived? Maybe the family would need help and not just a child reprimand or punishment.

I strongly encourage elementary school teachers to open the right, bold conversational connection with families. Talking opens channels for the best of the child. The time it takes to type in Wilma color codes is easy to replace with a phone call. Maybe that call would save before child protection or the police are the authorities to contact. Our professionalism also allows for a heart rate!

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