Teachers association conducts one day seminar on Drug abuse, prevention and role of teacher in Ganderbal.
Teachers association conducts one day seminar on Drug abuse, prevention and role of teacher in Ganderbal.
Bilal Ahmad
Press Trust of Kashmir | Srinagar:- Jammu and Kashmir teachers Association led by Shah Fayaz who is also president JKECC, national convener AIPRUF and Apex leaders indian public service emplooyees federation (IPSEF)on Thursday organised a one day seminar on drug abuse, prevention and role of teacher in Hari Ganwan Kangan area of Ganderbal.
Hundreds of students and teachers were part of the programme and highlighted different issues related to drugs.
On the occasion, speakers said that students spend the major part of their day in school. They are likely to spend more time in the school environment around teachers than at home with their parents, making the school’s social environment a key factor in shaping up their personality.
They said that educational institutions can help in the prevention of drug abuse by providing education about this menace at different levels of educational process.
Teachers often serve as highly influential role models to students. In such circumstances, the role of a teacher assumes all the more importance, they added.
“A teacher has to be a magician.He/She should be able to read the psyche of the learners. Besides the usual classroom transaction, a teacher has to step in the shoes of a professional counselor. While facilitating a learner in his academic pursuits, a teacher, at the same time has to focus on the emotional, social, vocational and health related concerns of a child. Listening to the problems of the child with an open and non-judgmental attitude is an effective strategy to alleviate the distress, eliminate interpersonal conflict, and give a proper identity to the child.” They added
“Teachers can help build a child’s self-esteem and strengthen inter-personal skills.” They said.
If a teacher observes that a student is not oriented, has stain marks on his extremities, is having chemical odor on his clothes and breath, has lost interest in normal activities, has rashes in the area of mouth, appears intoxicated, has slurred speech, prefers isolation, has numbness and tingling in hands and feet, complains of headache, nausea, abdominal pain etc then he must try to get into the details and search for the possible causes of this unusual behavior, they added.
” It is at this stage where the teacher has to bring out the psychoanalyst in him and nip the evil in the bud.” They said.
“Prevention of substance abuse would be a better strategy than attempting to treat the disease after its onset. It is the duty of parents to take proper care and maintaina good vigil on their wards. Young people in schools and colleges sit, eat and study together. New ideas and experiments keep circulating in these groups influencing behavioral patterns and attitudinal changes. An effective supervisory mechanism should be devised in schools to identify the life style and habits of peer groups so that no innocent student gives in to peer group pressure. Social groups, parents, teachers, doctors, religious leaders will have to step in with more conviction so that the deterioration is stemmed.” They added further.:-PTK.
