Task 1: Academic Essay

Emotion is difficult to define as stated by James L. Paul in Educating Emotionally

Disturbed Children and Youth 2nd edition (1991) because there are only limited values in
defining emotional disturbance in educational settings. Emotion is a state of consciousness
in which joy, sorrow, fear, or hate is experienced, some sort of strong mood or feeling, helps
to prepare the body for an action (Grolier, 2002). When we talk about emotional
disturbances that merely happened in every person’s life, we tend to think that emotional
disturbances came as results from stress. Emotional disturbance means a condition
exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a
marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Emotional
disturbances can start from an early age of childhood and if it is not solved or intervened by
the teachers or the parents, emotional disturbances can lead to have major problems
especially in learning development of the students. Children with the most serious emotional
disturbances may exhibit distorted thinking, excessive anxiety, bizarre motor acts, and
abnormal mood swings (NICHY, 2010). Some of them may exhibit disruptive behaviours and
facing difficulty in learning. The impact of emotional stress on children is greater as children
have less experience and ability to cope with emotional stress. As teachers, we may like to
detect the early symptoms of emotional disturbances among our students. It may be helpful
to locate individuals in need and help them to overcome the psychological hindrances and
move on with a positive mental and emotional state in order to achieve healthy growth and
personal development.

When we talk about emotional disturbance that occurred in the classroom, it may be
resulted from emotional stress that occurred in the school children. Stress can have both
positive and negative effects on a child. Some stress for everyone is normal and healthy; it
keeps us alert and aware of the things that are happening around us. However, excessive
stress can be quite harmful to a child. Research has shown that the negative effects of
stress on children under the age of 10 are far more profound and longer lasting (Jewett &
Peterson, 2003). Dealing with stress is dependent on a child’s developmental level as well
as their development of coping-skills at that age. (Jewett&Peterson, 2003). Children that are
exposed to long term stressors and continued use of unhealthy coping strategies can result
in behaviour patterns that may be difficult to change, due to the fact that the child begins to
see these strategies as being effective (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Skinner, 2002). Each
individual child can be affected differently by stress. Symptoms may present themselves
internally as well as externally. As observed by experts, a child’s physical response to stress
may be presented as more intense than that of an adult and often times involves the whole
body (Zegans, 1982). Stress is a physical and/or emotional strain on the body and mind
(Frank, 2003). When the stain and pressure becomes too much to handle, this is called
distress or negative stress (Frank). According to Allen and Klein, experts have found that up
to 75% of medical disorders are caused by the effects of stress

Identification of students with emotional disturbance is not a simple, clear-cut task.

Many variables enter into the identification process. Any or a combination of the behaviours
listed below may characterize a student with an emotional disturbance, but may also be
exhibited by students in other disability categories. Teachers recognize emotionally
disturbed children either through their own observations in the classroom or when parents
make teachers aware of some difficulties their child is having (Paul, J., 1991). So from my
own observations while I was having internship in School X, I noticed that few of my own
pupils had encountered emotional stress in which the way they acted while in the classroom
and during my lessons. Based on the observations that I have done in the classroom, I
noticed that there are some symptoms of emotional stress that being proposed by Sumitra
Kan in the Edu 3093 module such as social behaviours such as immaturity (inappropriate
crying, temper tantrums, poor coping skills); and academic characteristic: Hyperactivity
(short attention span, impulsiveness). Based on the observations being carried in the
classroom, I can see that few of the pupils showed that they were having emotional distress.
Not only that, there was a pupil who always seeks for teacher’s attention in the classroom as
if the teacher did not attend to him, he will burst into tears and the lesson was not going on
well. Besides that, there were few pupils who showed hyperactivity such as short attentive
span. According to Dictionary.com, attentive span is the length of time during which a person
can concentrate on a subject or idea. Whereas short attentive span is the short amount of
time of a person can concentrate on a subject and idea. This problem occurred in a few of
the pupils during the lessons took place. For example, I had faced a student who did not
participate well in the lesson and did not give his attention towards the lessons. So the rest
of pupils will tend to mislead as their one particular friend started to misbehave and started
to disturb other friends to join in. Besides that, my lessons always started after recess time.
Due to that, the pupils always become tired and having hard time to give full attention in the
lessons especially during 3 periods lesson.

According to Psychology Glossary.com, a survey is a method for collecting

information or data as reported by individuals. This is a type of data collection known as self-
report data, which means that individuals complete the survey (or provide the information)
themselves. Besides classroom observations done in the classroom, I have conducted a
survey based on recent interviews with the school counsellor. The survey was basically
about students’ perceptions on the teachers based on their own experience with their
teachers in the classroom. This survey was based on the treatment faced by the pupils from
their teachers especially during the lessons. The data were collected through the 15 items of
questionnaire of children’s stress symptom scale. This questionnaire assesses the
experiences of stress in 7 to 12-year-old children using eleven cognitive-emotional
symptoms and thirteen physical signs. Based on the survey that I have conducted for Year 2
pupils who consists with 18 pupils, I found that there were 6 out of 18 pupils who strongly
disagree of having the teachers to greet their pupils whenever the pupils greeted the
teachers especially outside the classroom.

Number of pupils strongly

disagree with the statement in 6
the survey
Number of pupils strongly
agree with the statement in the 13
survey

Figure 1 showed the number of pupils who involved with the survey

Based on the data been collected, the findings were basically showing that most of the
pupils thoughts of having disagreed with the statements in the survey. The result showed so
because based on the recent interviews with the pupils that participated in the survey, I
found that most of the pupils were disagree in item 4 which was about “the teacher always
praises me” item. A quite number of pupils disagree because they said that few of the
teachers that they greeted did not respond to the pupils’ greetings.

Based on the results, the teacher did an interview by calling few of the pupils who
disagree with the items in the survey. Based on the interview done, the pupils stated that the
teacher did not appreciate them and focus more on the lesson rather than listening to them. I
have had whether the pupils listen or behave well in the classroom with their class teacher
and she said that the pupils were did not show respect to the teachers in front of the
classroom since the lesson was lengthy and they were tired so they just wanted to play
around during the lesson. besides that, the pupils were also had low achievement in
academic as some of them are LINUS Tegar and they were having intervention classes with
the remedial teacher. So from this statements and interviews done, I come out with reasons
on why the pupils may become like this and ways to overcome the problems with the
activities that can be done to promote emotional eustress in the classroom.
 Today's children face many pressures from external and internal sources, for
example:

 Stress in schools - There is a lot of pressure on students today to perform at

school, and there seem to be even more pressure within the peer group. The
increase in the amount of homework students receive, fear of failure, worrying about
fitting in, self-identity, and bullying are some of the more common reasons for stress
in schools.
 Stress in the family - There are many issues within a family unit that can cause
stress in children, for example, parental separation, remarriage (blended family),
financial problems, poverty, parental stress, coping with parents who have a mental
illness and, commonly, unreasonably high family expectations being placed on
children.
 Media stress and environmental dangers - Some children can become worried
about things they hear and see on the news or by a generalised fear of strangers,
burglars and street violence.

Many of the above-mentioned concerns, such as school stress, have been around for
a long time. The main difference now, compared to 10 or 20 years ago, that today's children
have increased access to media. Television, internet and cell phones have contributed to the
break-down of barriers that protect children from crime, violence and catastrophic events in
media coverage. This exposure may contribute to, and have a significant impact on,
increasing children’s stress levels and their fears around safety. Cyber-bullying is another
big stressor, which can be very aggressive and pervasive and often causes serious
emotional distress and harm to children.

The amount of stress that children today are faced with can seem overwhelming,
however there is an upside to all of this, stress and emotional disturbance is very treatable.
There are steps that teachers and guidance counsellors can take to help children to deal
with their stress. There are many different therapies that are available to help children cope
with stress, but there are also many simple techniques that can be taught to children to help
them to deal with stress and anxiety in a proactive manner. Some of the more well-known
therapies used to deal with stress and anxiety are Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Therapy,
Family Therapy, and Person-Centered Therapy. There are many opportunities for teachers
and counsellors to help students learn how to deal with their stress in non-counselling
situations. Allowing time for students to receive adequate exercise, time for relaxation,
journaling, and giving structure-free time are just a few ways to help lessen the stress for
children. Encouraging a stressed or anxious child to find a physical activity that they enjoy is
an easy and effective coping strategy for teachers and counsellors to implement. Exercise is
a body’s natural way of fighting stress and anxiety. According to Frank (2003), “When done
on a regular basis, the child will benefit not only physically, but also emotionally.” Even in
dealing with a non-athletic child, finding an activity that keeps them moving and gets their
blood pumping will help to take the edge off the their anxiety.

Besides that, another effective way in dealing emotional disturbances or emotional

stress is through encouraging journaling in and out of the classroom can help stressed and
anxious children express themselves without being put in an even more stressful position.
Recording events throughout the day can help children to identify stress triggers and stress
alleviators (Frank, 2003). Children can also feel the freedom to express themselves freely
without their feelings being judged. Many children feel over scheduled, so allowing for some
free time can give children a “stress-free” break. Children need time to just be children so
giving them free time to read a book, listen to music, or to just “veg-out” can be an easy
stress reliever. Allowing time for activities that they enjoy and that they choose will help them
to be more relaxed, since activities that they choose will most likely be low stress activities.
Awareness is the first step in helping these students to gain control over their stress and
anxiety. Helping the students to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and then
educate them on how to cope with the stress that surrounds them. Coping with stress and
anxiety is a skill that is needed and can be used for a lifetime. The sooner we recognize the
need for this type of action in our schools, the better off our students will be.

In order to have a productive relationship between the teacher and the pupils, the
teacher should first build the positive and consistent relationships in which the social-
emotional development is supported through positive and consistent relationships among
teachers and children. The teacher shall be going beyond expectations of compliance with
school rules, and support social-emotional development by crafting a positive, emotionally
supportive climate in the classroom that skilfully connects new experiences with children’s
unique home experiences. According to the National Scientific Council on the Developing
Child, “Children who develop warm, positive relationships with their teachers are more
excited about learning, more positive about coming to school, more self-confident, and
achieve more in the classroom.” Children are more likely to develop positive relationships
when teachers can model appropriate social behaviours, provide opportunities for them to
develop new social-emotional skills, give explicit guidance; offer curriculum that is engaging
and relevant to children’s lives and cultures; engage with parents in a two-way relationship to
build children’s social-emotional skills; and reflect an ethic of caring and nurturing. Specific
examples of productive teacher behaviours includes showing respect and valuing children’s
cultural and language backgrounds, modelling the polite use of language and encouraging
empathic thinking with questions such as, “Why do you think he is crying?”; promoting
children’s confidence and development of new skills by engaging them in problem solving,
for example by asking, “Can you think of a way to help you remember to wait for your turn?”;
and attending to signs of personal trauma and providing additional support to children who
are experiencing unusual stress in their lives.

There are simple activities or actions that the teacher can do to make a major
difference in overcoming the problems that the teacher was having. One of the best things
that the teacher can do is to model appropriate behaviour. They learn a lot from just
watching the teacher, so set a positive example. Make sure to praise the students often to let
them know how valued and special he is. Engage them in conversations and listen
attentively for their needs as sometimes they also wanted to feel that the adults can listen to
them. Besides that, children’s games are also suitable in adhere the problems especially in
the classroom. It is not just for entertainment but they can be educational, too. Games that
require kids to take turns and share help develop their social development. They must
cohabitate the play space and decide on what rules to follow. When a student loses or
accidentally gets his feelings hurt, he must learn how to accept the loss or demonstrate
emotional self-regulation. Age-appropriate board games, puzzles, field games, races or tag
are all examples of games that can help the students mature socially and emotionally. By
having so, the cognitive therapy is aligned with the activities done to enhance emotional
well-being of the students where the therapy involves the child’s thoughts and beliefs. The
child is taught to replace their negative and self-defeating thoughts with positive and
encouraging thoughts. As stated by Frank (2003) “How a person thinks about a situation is
often more significant than the event itself.” This therapy uses the A, B, and C’s: Activating
event, beliefs, and consequences that directly relate our beliefs to our feelings or
consequences of our actions. In cognitive therapy the client is taught to identify negative
thoughts and to replace those negative thoughts with positive thoughts, which in turn will
help to replace the negative feelings.

Furthermore, art project is an excellent means of providing an emotional and creative

outlet for a child of any age. If the teacher pair two or more children together to do a
cooperative art project, they also tie in the social aspect. When the children have to work
together, they must determine how to distribute the supplies evenly and share the art space
to complete the task. Creating a large painting, gluing together an ice pop stick birdhouse or
mixing up a batch of homemade modelling clay all require the kids to collaborate and
brainstorm how to complete the task, as well as learn the valuable lesson of give and take.
All of these activities will help strengthen their self-image and allowing the students to
develop a healthy view of the world.
 Children today are faced with everyday stressful events such as overexposure to the
media (war, extreme weather, terrorism, illness and death), family related issues (divorce,
single parent families, addictions, illness and death), and school (the ever rising
expectations, over scheduling, bullying, and peer pressure). Society has given our children
adult sized problems to deal with, without giving them adult sized coping skills. Often times,
children take what they are presented with and internalize these problems, or deal with them
in a harmful or hurtful way.

We as a society need to begin to take a proactive approach to helping the primary

school children to deal with the everyday problems they are being faced with. Since it is
nearly impossible to remove most of the stressful events from the children’s lives, we need
to work together to teach them positive coping skills. Teachers and counsellors as well as
parents can implement simple things into everyday activities, things such as relaxation
techniques, increased physical activity, healthy eating, daily journaling, and free time for kids
to just be kids.