Article | Ahmad Yammine
Health Culture for an Enabling Educational Environment
We seek intention without intent, looking at the result without the event, as if we are in a collective policy aimed at isolating the cause from the effect and obscuring the reason from the impact. We aim to build a righteous generation without providing sufficient reasons to achieve this righteousness. We desire success without realizing its true value. We want victory without effort and attainment without guidance. So, what is the way forward? To what extent can we invest in empowerment? And is the curriculum alone sufficient to achieve the right approach?
Schools are vital environments for developing students’ academic and social skills. Hence, it is crucial to ensure both physical and emotional safety in this environment. Safety does not only mean protection from physical dangers but also encompasses providing an emotionally supportive environment where the student feels a sense of belonging, motivating them to move forward in the path of productivity and creativity. This, in turn, creates a positive stimulus or reaction towards this environment as a form of gratitude that takes to give back.
Safety First
From this perspective, schools, educational institutions, and relevant authorities must promote the concept of health culture not in its traditional sense but in its broad, inclusive meaning of both physical and mental health. Here, we will discuss some mechanisms to enhance physical safety on one hand and emotional and psychological safety on the other. It is not permissible to focus on the body’s needs and neglect the intellectual, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of the student. Simply put, focusing on the care aspect in isolation from the educational aspect creates material beings lacking logical and spiritual culture, which supports social security and peace in the future.
Achieving physical safety requires various measures to ensure students are protected from accidents and injuries. This refers to the logistical field, which must be well-prepared to align with emerging circumstances. Firstly, schools must be properly equipped with basic safety means such as safe play surfaces, fire alarm systems, emergency safety equipment, and security procedures to prevent any illegal and threatening acts to public safety, limiting strangers’ access and interference in the educational environment. This includes ensuring all facilities are safe and adequately supervised during sports, recreational, or even classroom and extracurricular activities. Responsibility here branches into logistical responsibility, reflected in administrative follow-up for proper facility preparation and periodic maintenance, and establishing a specialized committee for planning and project management to consider all possibilities and potentials to activate any activity and ensure its proper conduct within or outside the educational environment.
Secondly, it is essential to conduct regular training for teachers and staff on how to handle emergencies and injuries. This contributes to ensuring a quick and effective response to any emergency that may arise.
As for emotional or psychological safety, it means creating an educational environment where students feel safe, accepted, and belonging. This starts by promoting a culture of respect and appreciation within the school through awareness and educational programs that can be adopted and developed to enhance students’ social and emotional skills, helping them deal with pressures and resolve conflicts positively. Additionally, supporting mental health through counseling services and educational resources on psychological well-being enhances students’ ability to cope with daily challenges. In this context, it is necessary to have a social worker or a psychological health counselor whose task is to monitor students’ behavior patterns and relationships with themselves and their peers, constantly guiding and following them up. This creates a sense of belonging for the student, enhancing their self-esteem and creativity.
It is worth noting that achieving a safe environment requires strategic measures and renewed policies that address the realities and meet the changing and constant needs of individuals and groups. Policies that originate from collective creation and conscious scientific awareness of the importance of developing the educational environment to foster adaptation and adjustment processes for the benefit of individuals and groups. Besides preparing facilities and individuals, it is necessary to develop an educational curriculum that ingrains health culture in students’ minds as they are the cornerstone for building new communities. Proper investment in them is essential. These curricula should evolve with the continuous life developments, creating educational materials or organizing sessions managed by specialists addressing health, environmental, and social issues, highlighting the most prominent lived issues and escalating problems, and proposing suitable solutions appropriate to the awareness of each stage. Thus, paving the way for a preventive policy supporting social, health, physical, and psychological safety. This policy requires continuous follow-up, supervision, and coordination to ensure its proper application and organization both at the school level and the general educational system.
Therefore, schools must integrate the physical and emotional aspects of safety through comprehensive strategies. Continuous training and development programs for staff, as well as cooperation with families and local communities, enhance a safe and encouraging school environment, supporting student growth and ensuring a positive and fruitful educational experience.
In conclusion, achieving physical and emotional safety in schools is not a simple task, but it is essential to ensure students’ safety and academic excellence. This can only be achieved through continuous and ongoing commitment to developing strategies that enable schools to provide a safe and encouraging environment for students to reach their full potential, paving the way for creating the concept of the modern school.
Ahmad Yammine
Educator & Trainer
Specialized in Distance Education Strategies
Holder of Master Degree in Arabic Language and Literature