Strong against Socio-Emotional Storms !

Sustainability has different forms and one of which is the sustainability of ourselves. We, as educators, study for years, read for years, and experience a myriad of life situations and occurrences on school ground, but we sometimes fail to recognize how patterns build up in our lives, our children’s and our students’, leading to outcomes that are not only unpleasant, but also complex and unsolvable.

As it is well-known, adolescents go through very critical phases in their growth, physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially. The rapid puberty signs sometimes cause imbalance, lack of flexibility, clumsiness, and lethargy. Naturally, such sudden, uncontrolled physical developmental experiences disrupt the stability and confidence they once had in their earlier stage of life, so they become very shy, distant, and sensitive. Their images of themselves can be easily shaken as scenarios start building fast in their minds, many of which are exaggerated or misinterpreted. When this intensifies in some cases, the need for social withdrawal suddenly multiplies, leading to severe cases that can even lead to dropouts at a later high school stage.

One of the reasons recently discovered to have a negative impact on middle school students in terms of emotional stability and overall balance is sports during childhood, and particularly in the elementary stage. That is why many states of anxiety, anguish, and social alienation at an early age, such as 12 years old, are observed, and according to a recent study conducted by Dr. Frédéric N. Brière in the field of psycho-education, the reason is the absence of a well-structured, continuous sports program, through which an elementary student follows throughout the years.

Sports here does not mean regular sports classes throughout the academic year because in many schools around the world, PE sessions are underrated to give more attention and effort to academics. There is no need to list the advantages of sports for the health of a human being and particularly for a growing child because they are widely known. However, how does the absence of sports programs during childhood affect middle-schoolers? And how can educators and parents utilize sports in order to sustain those adolescents before it is too late?

It is through sports clubs, mainly after-school clubs, during which elementary students can engage fully with their peers and their coaches within a safe environment. At this stage, excluding bullying cases, there are no threats of being observed and criticized, so children indulge happily in physical activities and games, and as they continuously do, they are automatically and systematically building blocks that will stand strong later in emotional and social storms. This stress-free, repeated year-after-year environment between childhood and adolescence is very critical. It either builds or breaks!

Communities can all gather to arrange for constructive clubs, but that also requests deliberate efforts from educators and parents to encourage children and support them with their presence, as they pass one milestone to another, training their bodies, minds and hearts to be strong, confident, and immune against socio-emotional threats, lingering around the corner !