Working at Acıbadem Eskisehir Hospital, Specialist. Psk. Ege Canyurt talked about the effect of the opening of schools on children's psychology and said, “The opening of schools is a state of uncertainty in general. This great uncertainty will affect both school-age children and their parents. While this new uncertainty will involve more stress and excitement factors for parents, it will involve a new adventure, excitement and anxiety for students.”
Millions of students and teachers in primary and secondary education institutions affiliated to the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) returned to school today after a 3-month summer vacation. With the first bell ringing, both children and parents are experiencing great excitement, Uzm. Psk. Ege Canyurt talked about the effects of the opening of schools on children's psychology. Canyurt said that people have always been afraid of uncertainties from past to present, “For example, concepts such as darkness and death are uncertainties that have always existed in human life from past to present. However, uncertainties are still on the agenda in the modern world and uncertainty is still scary for us, no matter how old we are. The opening of schools is a situation of uncertainty in general. This situation of great uncertainty will affect both school-age children and, because of them, their parents. While this new uncertainty will involve more stress and excitement factors for parents, it will involve a new adventure, excitement and anxiety for students.”
“Trying to learn the requirements may cause anxiety in other students”
Stating that uncertainty can cause anxiety in students, Canyurt said, “If we are going to start talking about the effects first, we will need to underline that every child reacts differently to such situations. This is because we all learn how to cope with life differently and react accordingly. Another reason is that we all have a unique temperament. These 2 things make us unique and different from others. This difference will make us all react to things differently. For some students, school is a new field of exploration. There is a new place, a new class, new information to learn and they can stay in the moment in these positive situations. On the other hand, defining a new environment with uncertainty or trying to learn the obligations may cause anxiety in other students.”
“Adaptation problems may occur in this sudden transition”
Stating that the other issue to be addressed is to leave the comfort zone for a long time, Uzm. Psk. Ege Canyurt continued her speech as follows:
“Students will be coming out of a long summer vacation and there is no heavy responsibility, pressure or uncertainty during this summer vacation. This is a comfort zone for children. Because there is no uncertain or dangerous source of stress for them. Moving from this comfort zone to a new living arrangement will challenge them. This is because the new concept comes with responsibilities and uncertainties, which can be a source of stress. Adaptation problems may occur in this sudden transition. Because every change means some pain for us. One of the important issues is sociability. The school environment is an area where sociality is very prominent. Because there will be many people with their peers in a large area. Apart from that, there will be teachers and administrative staff representing authority figures. Relationships with these concepts may cause stress in children due to their past experiences. In addition, a child who has acquired healthy socialization skills will have little difficulty in making these new connections in general terms. In addition, school is a great opportunity for students to bond with a person and develop socialization skills such as communication skills.”
“For children, the family is the concept that can nurture a sense of trust as they cope with new uncertainties”
Lastly, Canyurt also mentioned the family factor and said, “The position of the family in this new order is very important for the child. Because the family is the concept that can nurture a sense of trust while children cope with new uncertainties. The reaction and support of the family plays a very important role in situations such as the child coping with a new environment and overcoming obligations. At the same time, the family's attitude towards academics and how it reflects this to the child is also important. Because the family can take the emotional burden off the child and lighten it, but at the same time they can also put an emotional burden on the child. This is completely related to the structure of the family. If we summarize all these strong influencing factors; temperament, past experiences, family factor, social structure will play a very important role in children's adaptation to school. This process should be seen as a developmental phase in general. It is necessary to determine what children should learn from school, not only in terms of lessons, but also in general, and to support them as families and teachers in learning this. Because they will use this general life experience they learn at school in the later years of their lives. Therefore, it is the duty of those who are responsible for this situation to teach them what is healthiest.”
