The Student Advocate of the province of Las Palmas, David Muñoz, has granted an interview to La Voz to discuss the state of mental health in the archipelago's classrooms and the lack of educational assistants to care for students with special needs.
The Office for the Defense of Students of the Canary Islands is responsible for ensuring that the rights of students are respected and for coexistence in the educational community of the islands. Before it, complaints or claims can be filed regarding cases of violation of student rights and consultations can be made on how to proceed in the event of suffering a problem.
"Being able to work on mental health is one of the great challenges for our educational system and our society," begins David Muñoz in an interview with this editorial team.
"Some families have come interested in seeking solutions or alternatives to the situation of their sons and daughters, especially when situations related to depressive disorders, anxiety, or some type of stress generated within the educational system or outside of it occur," Muñoz explained during the interview.
The minors who, through their families, arrive at this space do so driven by different situations. Mainly, bullying within the school or social and family problems outside the center. "The problem of mental health is becoming more and more evident, and in fact, the Ministry has already included different training actions for teachers to accompany students and for prevention within its action plans," he continued.
At this point, the Office for the Defense of Students of the Canary Islands has pointed out that the increase in "situations or states of depression, anxiety, of generalized stress in boys and girls, especially at an early age," does "alert us to the situation that is also experienced at a social level."
Thus, he emphasized that "it is not unfortunately an issue that only affects the educational system, but it is an issue that goes beyond. In some way, it is a reflection of what is happening in our society, where it is increasingly necessary to take a comprehensive approach to mental health."
David Muñoz has indicated that the fact that institutions must prepare to address mental health is a sign of "the demands of the 21st century" and of the influence that "technology has on our way of relating" and especially on the "child and youth" population.
For Muñoz, who agrees with the research of other experts already analyzed by La Voz, "that boys and girls relate through social media generates levels of expectations, demands, and requirements that, if not met, then it generates a state of frustration and dissatisfaction at a time when they are developing as individuals." In addition, he has highlighted that "that is what ultimately leads to having to influence or having to work more on those aspects in the educational system to also be able to accompany them in the process."
In this sense, the role of artificial intelligence in educational centers cannot be ignored. "The idea is that they can make, we are not going to demonize it, but a use that does not imply an annulment of their abilities or a decrease in the possibilities they have to develop personally and academically," he indicated. For this, he has advocated for "a limited management, because evidently they have come to make our lives easier, but evidently when there is a use that transcends to other levels and is distorted, it can become a perversion."
For the representative in the defense of the rights of students, the way to tackle mental health problems from education is to "expand the academic spectrum" of emotional education and "integrate it even more transversally" in the different levels and educational stages. "In the end, it is about generating skills and abilities in students that allow them to face all situations and needs, and for this it is essential that there is a comprehensive form of emotional intelligence."
At the same time, he encourages students to participate in the educational system, through student associations, school councils, or in specific actions. "What we are contributing to with participation is to generate well-being within educational systems and if we generate well-being indirectly, we are positively impacting the health of students and obviously on the climate of coexistence in the centers," he defended.
The lack of educational assistants, unequal access to education
The beginning of the school year, by the hand of the Ministry of Education, led by Poli Suárez (PP), has been marked by criticism of the lack of educational assistants, which have ended up overloading mothers with care and have made some students with special educational needs discriminated against by having to spend less time than their peers in the educational center. Thus, the Office for the Defense of Students has received demands from families to improve this situation.
"All have been answered and channeled in the line of transferring to the competent body of this Ministry, which is the General Directorate of Planning, so that it studies it and can give an answer as soon as possible," he highlighted.
The Student Advocate has pointed out that the islands suffer "a rather unique issue" and that "we have more and more diversity. Which implies a higher level of demand when it comes to being able to correspond to the individual processes of the students who, in turn, are integrated within the group, where many needs coexist."
To conclude, Muñoz has added that "in this multidiverse panorama, every day we have to be looking for more tools, the teaching staff has to be looking for more tools to be able to satisfy that demand, those needs and obviously we are on the way to building and defining what those needs are and to gradually responding."
In addition, he relates the increase in diversity in the classroom with "the greater visibility and detection" of students with special needs. "We have a path to take when it comes to responding to these needs and also generating the resources within the educational system to respond to this demand that is increasingly latent."
