I remember one student who complained about his extreme headache one day in one off my classes in Limay National High School, one of the most populous secondary school in the province. Apparently, the boy was feeling extreme headache because he had not eaten breakfast! That makes us wonder: “how much more kids go to school every day with empty stomachs?” We might not want to know the statistics.
Stories of malnutrition is nothing new in public schools. The recent campaign of the Department of Education on healthy and affordable foods for public school students led by Bro. Armin Luistro is a commendable effort to curve malnutrition among our public school students, who are more prone to malnutrition. We know for a fact that our public school system absorbs the most underprivileged students in the country.
Health is wealth, whether this saying sounds very tiring it is still important. As teachers, we should not leave all the responsibility of promoting health to our students to the school clinic, to the district’s or division’s programs on health. We should learn how to create our own mini health programs since we are in contact to our students on a daily basis: we know what their ‘real’ situations are in all aspects – physical, mental, social, and even psychological. With our very close proximity to the health of our students, we are in the best position to promote holistic health to our students.
Fellow educators, promoting health is not a waste of time. And let us not always assume that our students even in high school would always know what’s good health or a bad health status. We still have to educate them on a continuous basis. Within our classrooms, let us take care not only the mental health of our students but also their social and psychological health.
The sexual health of our secondary students are also in the brink of danger. This aspect must also be focused on. Let us help our students and protect them from unhealthy sexual practices. According to the recent surveys, our young people today as early as 13 get involved in pre-marital sex and other sexual activities. Some even get pregnant at the age of 14! Teachers have a very influential position to prevent our students of falling in the pit of casual sex and a ruined future. Let’s practice the principle of loco parentis – we are our students’ second parents, and them our second, third, fourth and so on children.
Taking care on the over-all health of our students is a way of expressing not just our concerns to our students but ultimately our love for them. Showing love to our students is the best medicine, and the best health practice we could ever teach them. Now that’s holistic health promotion!
By: Mrs. Rowena Canoy| MAPEH Teacher | Limay National High School
