Fighting a failing school system
The education system has failed Cyprus children says the teacher using the great characters of recent history to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing the island’s youth. ALIX NORMAN finds out more
Even before the pandemic, more than one in 10 Cypriot schoolchildren reported clinical depressive symptoms. But in the three years since 2020, mental health disorders have become so prevalent in children that, across the world, we’ve seen a 24 per cent increase in depression and a 27 per cent rise in anxiety among our kids.
These figures continue to escalate. Recently, the World Happiness Report suggested that Cypriots were the fifth most stressed people in Europe (just ahead of Greece and Bulgaria). And, in that children learn to process emotion from adults, this does not bode well for our island’s future generations.
“I’ve seen it myself first-hand,” says 38-year-old Andreas Demetriou, who has been teaching in local schools for over 10 years. “A decade ago, kids were much happier, much less stressed. But in the last five years, I’ve seen a change: suddenly, we’re seeing a huge number of children diagnosed with anxiety and depression.”
For Andreas, the crunch came during a student speaking event. “Each child was free to talk about a topic they felt was relevant to them. All us teachers thought they’d wax lyrical about their friends, about football or fashion. In fact, the vast majority of the students chose to talk about their emotions – the stress, anxiety and depression they felt in their everyday lives. It was shocking,” he adds. “These floodgates had opened, and it made a huge impression on me. What, I wondered, could I do to help?”
As a history teacher, Andreas immediately looked to his textbooks. “But the resources I needed to help kids cope with increasing amounts of emotional distress were nowhere to be found. Dry facts and dates were not the answer. However, I knew there was something in the annals of the past that might just help: people.”
In the great characters of recent history, Andreas found the ‘superheroes’ to whom kids could relate. And, as an educator who’s already published multiple resources for educators around the world, he decided to write a book that would help kids process their difficult emotions while they learnt about the past.
“If you ask children to name their superheroes, they’ll give you Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman,” says Andreas. “But these fictional characters have powers that are unrelatable: super strength, time travel, flight. In my book, History’s Superheroes, we look instead at real-life superheroes, people with attainable abilities. Famous individuals from our recent past who exemplified and practised traits that we know actively combat emotional distress.
“I’m talking about people like Gandhi,” he adds. “Gandhi epitomises compassion – a trait we can cultivate ourselves, and is scientifically proven to reduce fear and anxiety. There’s Maya Angelou, who we use as an example of adaptability, a trait that helps kids adjust to a changing, stressful world. And Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist peace activist whose teachings on mindfulness can help kids focus on the present instead of overthinking past or future events.
“Utilising the ‘superpowers’ of the 10 famous historical figures in the book, we provide kids not just with knowledge of a school subject, but also with the ability to combat both mental and emotional distress. These are not traits that are taught in school,” he adds. “The education system is failing our kids in the most important respect of all. Especially in Cyprus, where the curriculum is very rigid and education is geared towards learning facts. But what price a good job if you can’t manage your own wellbeing?”
Since the start of the pandemic, Andreas has been developing Tellus Mind, a website that offers resources teaching school subjects in tandem with virtues such as compassion, gratitude, kindness, mindfulness, resilience and creativity. Already, his teaching aids have reached an audience of thousands: parents and educators in the US and the UK, in Canada, Australia, Israel, Ireland, and New Zealand.
In History’s Superheroes, he’s going one step further, providing kids with a hardback book packed with fun activities that provide a path to wellbeing. Through fascinating facts, comic strips, and a wealth of things to do, we learn about history – and ourselves. With Martin Luther King, we practise persistence and love, creating a vision board and undertaking deeds to help our friends. Through the examination of the life of Nelson Mandela, we learn of courage and gratitude, writing thank you letters and reenacting an interview with Oprah. In the mindfulness section on Thich Nat Hanh, we hear about the lives of children in other countries, try mindful eating, and complete an activity that examines and releases stress.
Set to be released at the end of the year, History’s Superheroes is set to be crowdfunded. “We need €8,000 to print and publish,” says Andreas, “and we’re launching a Kickstarter campaign at the end of summer. Having seen the success of the online resources on Tellus Mind, I have no doubt,” he adds, “that we will make this happen. I can’t think of anything more important than helping Cyprus’ future generations become more mentally and emotionally stable.
“Never before have we seen such a prevalence – or escalation – in childhood anxiety and depression. The pandemic has played a huge part in this,” he adds. “But so have any number of other factors. Kids today experience a ‘perfect’ world on social media, and compare themselves harshly to what is essentially a façade. They see their parents coping with decreasing salaries, money issues, marital problems. They watch as their friends struggle with academic pressure, bullying and the constant need to fit in. And they simply don’t have the tools to understand or manage the resultant negative emotions.
“But by learning from real-life heroes of the past, we’re giving them the means to cope; helping our children to better manage the challenges they face today. With History’s Superheroes, we’re giving our kids the tools they most need in life.”
To find out more, visit tellusmind.com, where you can sign up to be notified about the Kickstarter campaign and the launch of History’s Superheroes