Since the outbreak of a new wave of local COVID-19 infections in Northwest China's Gansu province in October, the department of education in Qilihe, a district of the provincial capital city of Lanzhou, has organized professionals to offer psychological courses online to those in need.
A poster featuring Lanzhou people's all-fount efforts to fight against pandemic [Photo/lzbs.com.cn]
According to the records of reservation, the largest challenge for students studying from home via video link is that they are more prone to suffer anxiety and depression induced by limited living and learning space.
Meanwhile, parents are concerned that the frequent use of smart phones, occasioned by online learning, will harm students' eyesight, their academic studies, and parent-child exchanges.
With these problems in mind, psychological assistance teachers gave one-on-one advice via phone calls, instructing students to make proper arrangements for their studies and lives and find appropriate channels to release negative emotions. In addition, they guided parents to communicate with their children and provide high-quality companionship to them.
Topics of the online courses cover emotional management, time arrangement at home, physical exercise and healthy diet, which play an important role for students in overcoming the restrictions of physical movement amid the pandemic period.
The courses can be reached through the official WeChat account of Qilihe Department of Education. Figures show that it has received over 10,000 visits from local primary and secondary schools in just two weeks.
Moreover, the department has dispatched 14 staff members to help those living in quarantine sites.
