Neziswa Titi | Parents, teachers must treat those who fail with care
Every year, across all the provinces in South Africa, we hear stories of how matrics who failed the grade 12 national examination end their lives.
Part of this tragedy is that it is stressful for some of these pupils to witness the disappointment of their communities, parents and sometimes teachers, when they fail.
Children and adolescents who live in poverty are aware of the daily struggles their parents and caregivers go through for them to get an education.
When they fail grade 12 especially, it is like they have thrown all the monies which have been invested in them away. For some pupils it is the awareness that their families look to them in hope for a better future. Failing then could be internalised as cutting off the expectations of a better life for their families.
Grade 12 pupils who fail matric may attempt to commit suicide because of their inability to deal with their perceived failure to themselves, families and their communities.
There is therefore more to these suicides than just failing.
The poverty in townships or informal settlements where some pupils live in environments with high socio-economic difficulties and face high rates of poly-victimisation means one person is exposed to different kinds of traumatic events; for example, physical, emotional, verbal and sexual abuse, all at the same time.
Pupils are then faced with more than just exam stress when preparing and writing for the finals. The environment and what they are exposed to thus affects their learning outcomes. This has implications for how well they do at school and whether they pass.
Community leaders, parents or caregivers and teachers thus have a major role in how pupils respond to stress experienced by grade 12s and their response to failing.
Suicidal ideation is a consequence of depression and stress which is the first point at which parents, teachers and community stakeholder could intervene to save the child.
Failing to manage suicidal ideation in pupils is an enormous tragedy. A review undertaken by the SA Medical Research Council has shown teenage suicides are extremely high and are a big concern.
This is a major problem in townships as there are inadequate counselling support centres in such contexts. This means that not enough care, support and attention is available to pupils who are distressed.
It is excellent that grade 12s who have passed exams and are excelling are celebrated. However, the same energy and attention needs to be invested in grade 12s who failed in 2018.
There are opportunities for success after failing.
When children who live under traumatic and stress-induced circumstances fail matric, that stress of failing adds to already existing stressors and may lead to suicidal ideation.
Community stakeholders, teachers and parents can help prevent pupil suicides by trying to understand the underlying risk factors for suicides. The stress that pupils face is on the personal, familial and societal levels and if care is not given it ends in suicide.
Interventions targeted at prevention should take on an ecological framework and be aimed at helping teachers, parents and communities understand the effect of stress in pupils and its consequences, looking at psychological and social factors.
Such interventions will have more impact if they are intentional and are on an ongoing basis at schools, in the homes and in communities.
Because children are at home when they receive their results, parents must be sensitive in how they handle news of failure.
Some parents may not know that their reactions may contribute to their children’s suicides. They thus require communication techniques for when they speak to distressed children as well as how to be supportive.
Going forward, schools should prepare grade12 pupils early in the academic year for examination results. All pupils deserve to be told that failing matric is not the end of the world and it does not necessarily mean academic failure that one cannot change.
After failing matric there are options and opportunities for a successful future. Failure is not final. Those who fail might even turn out better than those who pass, in years to come.
The are many celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Mike Tyson and even 19th century British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli who have built successes on failure. There are also ordinary people like myself, among many others, who have failed in something in their lifetime but still found success. Grade 12 pupils who have failed the national examination have options and opportunities for success:
1) Improve your results by registering to rewrite.
2) Explore different career opportunities.
3) Find a mentor.
4) Use the time to plan for your future.
Neziswa Titi is a psychology scholar at the SA Medical Research Council and is a PhD candidate at Unisa. She writes in her personal capacity.
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