[massagewarsaw]

Masaż w programie dla szkół podstawowych w ramach inicjatywy przeciwdziałania przemocy i agresji wśród dzieci. Australia tym razem

Schoolchildren are being taught to give each other massages as part of a national radical program to help combat bullying and violence in the playground.

The 15 minute sessions see primary school kids share head, neck, back and shoulder massages several times a week, with teachers reporting significant improvements in behaviour as a result.

Based on a successful model used in more than 26 countries, Massage in Schools is currently in 60 classrooms across Australia.

Anne Elston, who has been a teacher for 37 years, became an instructor when she lived in the UK, and introduced the program when she emigrated eight years ago.

"A lot of Australian schools have a no-touch policy, so this can be quite challenging for some principals when they first hear about it," Ms Elston said.

The classes begin with students being matched with a partner, asking permission to give them a massage and then starting with a series of strokes to the head and moving down to the back.

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"We have the consent and participation of the teachers and parents for the classes, and we make it very clear that at no time will any adults be actually touching any children," she said.

"After they learn what it's about you end up with a completely quiet room, and the children are very relaxed."

Year One teacher Victoria Cox said the massage sessions had replaced quiet time with a book to settle her class of 24 after playlunch.

"This has proved a really worthwhile way of settling them down, and they relate well," said Ms Cox, from Corpus Christi school in Melbourne.

"I have quite a few big personalities in my class and it has helped them build relationships with other students. Now they are much more settled and I have noticed I have a calmer classroom as a result."

Swedish researchers found children who took part in the classes showed reduced levels of aggression, stress and anxiety, while surveys of the country's 8000 trained teachers found their students better able to concentrate and learned how to say "no" to unwelcome contact.

Corpus Christi principal Tony Dean said the program had expanded at his school over the past two years, after being introduced by parent Annmaree Refardt.

He said he his initial concerns over the idea were put aside after he did some research.

"We have meditation classes as well at school so it wasn't too big a leap for us," he said.

"It has been great for our children to learn about the power of positive touch. We didn't have a bullying problem here or a no-touch policy, but it has helped promote the idea of safe play and safe touching."

Annmaree's son Carl, seven, said the massage classes were the best of his school day.

"It relaxes your muscles and makes everyone nice and quiet," he said.

Schools wanting to take part in the Massage in Schools Program need an instructor, usually a teacher or parent, who has taken part in a two day training course.

There are currently classes in all jurisdictions except the Northern Territory and South Australia and in public, private and Catholic schools.

The Massage In Schools program is being rolled out across several test sites. The program will see 4 to 12-year-old pupils give their fully-clothed classroom peers 10 to 15 minute daily back, head, arm and hand massages.

The only fully qualified Australian trainer of the massage program, Anne Elston, said there was growing interest from schools and teachers around the state to try the program, with one Queenstown school considering rolling it out across all its primary classes from next term.

Ms Elston says the program can be very beneficial, claiming "it calms them [students] down and also helps with their concentration... there's research in the UK that shows that it improves learning and has also helped to reduce bullying.''

Beside the social and emotional benefits, students are allegedly taught to be respectful of others, as well as empathy by doing something for someone else. With several schools imposing strict "no-touching" policies, Ms Elston says it is important for kids to learn to interact, "a no touching policy doesn't work... it's not right to teach kids not to touch people,'' she said.

[massagewarsaw]

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[massagewarsaw]

"Uczniowie angielskich szkół sprawiający problemy wychowawcze będą odsyłani nie na rozmowę do pedagoga czy na dywanik do dyrektora, a na masaże. Pomysłodawcy wprowadzenia zabiegów masażu do szkół widzą w nich skuteczną metodę radzenia sobie z niegrzeczną młodzieżą

Kilkuminutowy zabieg ma wyciszyć i odprężyć dziecko oraz obniżyć poziom agresji. Masażysta pomoże zlikwidować u uczniów stres, napięcie i lęk. Masowanie takich części ciała jak głowa czy stopa spowoduje, że młodzież będzie umiała zapanować nad swoimi emocjami i lepie radzić sobie w stresowych sytuacjach. Z takiego zabiegu będzie wychodzić skoncentrowana i grzeczniejsza. Powinno to także zaowocować lepszymi wynikami w szkole. Dzięki refleksologicznemu zabiegowi mają ocieplić się relacje „łobuziaków” z rówieśnikami, nauczycielami i rodzicami - twierdzą eksperci.

Pomysł wprowadzenia do szkół usług refleksologicznych ma tylu samo zwolenników co przeciwników. Pojawiły się głosy, że masaże fundowane uczniom by byli grzeczniejsi to porażka pedagogów, którzy nie potrafią inaczej wpłynąć na młodzież. Osoby nieprzychylne temu pomysłowi są zdania, że masaże będą odbierane przez trudną młodzież jako forma nagrody i mogą specjalnie sprawiać problemy, by tylko urwać się z lekcji na masaże.

Program ma objąć 74 szkoły."