We all fondly remember that one teacher who was empathetic to us as students. Essentially, if we grew up in a safe, happy and healthy school environment, it reflects in our communication, workplace behavior, relationships and self-esteem. Compare this with adults who had unpleasant experiences with their school teachers.

Thus, school mental health (SMH) has gained prominence and counsellors are catering to students’ rising mental health issues. School children’s usage of technology has also impacted precious after-school time with classmates, and time spent narrating everyday school episodes to curious grandparents, family and neighbours. The same has been uninstalled and replaced by aggressive mobile games and cheap internet.

Based on my team’s interactions with hundreds of teachers and principals from across Maharashtra, following are some of their observations about students. The attention span has reduced and school work often remains incomplete. There is inability to solve age-appropriate math or language........

© Free Press Journal