By: Lirio E. Baloy
Pagsanjan Sub-Office, SDO Laguna
Francisco Benitez Memorial School
As defined in the dictionary, the word ‘wellness’ means the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal. To be able to produce holistic individuals, as teachers, we must never disregard our’ and our learners’ wellness.
Physical education is a part of our school’s curriculum and there’s a reason why it is so. To be able to move and become physically active is one way to move towards wellness. Physical activity is associated with improved learning and the ability to concentrate. Being able to focus and actively process our thoughts on how we can become aware, make proper choices, and make meaning out of our successful existence, promotes wellness in our daily life.
Wellness is deemed important. To mention, school is a place where we – teachers – play a crucial role in supporting our students to make healthy lifestyle choices and help them understand what would be the impact of these choices on their well-being. It is a place where we give our students proper information and have them evaluate their understanding of the choices they face. Through the physical and classroom activities we give our learners, they can reflect critically on these choices and on how it also influences society. Some of the pressing issues that they could assess are peer pressure, social media, along with family and cultural values.
It has been proven in some studies that there is a direct link between wellness and academic achievement and vice versa. It could be noted that the Department of Education has launched the Learning Recovery Program which not only includes language and numeracy programs but as well as socio-emotional, health and well-being of students along with teachers as it is a key factor for determining our learners’ achievements in life.
Promoting the health and wellness of not only the learners but also teachers is important to have a conducive school environment where the wellness culture thrives in. If our teachers’ wellness is at its optimum level, retention and productivity follow, in return also our learners.
There are critical periods in the development of long-term attitudes towards wellness and that is mostly the age of our learners – from being in Kinder up to when they graduate in high school. We have to be able to instill in them the social, and emotional skills, knowledge, and behaviors that young people learn in the classroom to help them build resilience and set the pattern for how they will manage their physical and mental health throughout their lives.
With a healthy mind, comes a healthy body. Being an optimistic person and performing well in academics has a two-way impact on our learners. A student who feels supported and successful in school will do more than what he is asked of. This act improves their self-esteem and emotional health in return.
In conclusion, wellness is an inevitable part of our lives. Teachers and learners alike must strive to attain wellness in different parts of our lives. As of the moment, let us improve ourselves and try to achieve the best possible health we can have. If we do so, this would manifest in every aspect of our’ and learners’ lives. Live well. Learn well. That should be our motto.
Source: https://www.coe.int/en/web/campaign-free-to-speak-safe-to-learn/improving-well-being-at-school
