The Importance of Emotional Safety of Children in the School Environment

JAKARTA - In the midst of increasingly high academic demands, schools and parents often compete to pursue grades, rankings, and achievement targets. However, behind these numbers, there is one important factor that is often overlooked, namely the child's emotional safety and comfort. Without it, children can actually lose their enthusiasm at school.

"The child's brain cannot learn optimally when he is in an emotionally survival situation," said children's psychologist Anastasia Satriyo, M.Psi, in her statement, Tuesday, January 27.

This emotional situation is the key to understanding why many children seem to have difficulty focusing, are easily anxious, or lose interest in learning at school.

Anastasia explained, feeling safe means when a child feels accepted, not judged, and not feared, so that his brain is in a state of readiness to learn. At this stage, the part of the brain that plays a role in thinking, understanding, and solving problems can work well. Children are more relaxed, brave to try, and not afraid to make mistakes.

On the other hand, when children are under pressure and in a state of fear of being wrong, afraid of being scolded, afraid of being compared, or feeling that they are "not smart enough", the active mode is survival. "In this condition, children may look lazy, not focused, or refuse to learn. In fact, what is happening is that the brain is protecting itself," explained Anastasia.

Therefore, learning is not just about the subject matter. Learning is a relational process. There are emotional questions that always run in the child's mind: _ Am I safe here to try? _

The problem arises when schools and learning environments focus too much on academic achievement alone. The excessive focus on grades, rankings, and targets often unconsciously instills the message that children are only valuable when they achieve. Children also learn to pursue results, not understand the process.

According to Anastasia, the effects can be long-lasting. Children who have difficulty academically tend to feel that they are "problematic", even though their learning style may be different from the teaching system in school.

"In the long run, this can make it difficult for children to know themselves, quickly burn out (mental fatigue), and lose their natural curiosity. If left unchecked, this condition can erode curiosity. In fact, curiosity is the healthiest fuel for learning," said Anastasia.

This is where the approach to reflective learning plays an important role. Through reflection, children are invited to understand that they are not just the end result. Children learn to recognize their strengths and areas that still need to be developed, as well as understand that failing is not the same as being worthless. From this process, a healthy self-confidence is formed.

"The reflective model teaches children one important thing that 'I am not just a value, I am a process'," said Anastasia.

This approach is also the basis for schools that strive to build a better learning experience. One of them is the North Jakarta Intercultural School (NJIS), which places emotional well-being as a key factor in learning.

Head of School NJIS, Ezra Alexander, emphasized that meaningful learning cannot be separated from the emotional condition of students. "We see learning as a process that is more than academic achievement, but also as a child's life experience at school," he said.

According to Ezra, the curriculum has a big role in shaping the experience. Therefore, NJIS chose the International Baccalaureate (IB) Curriculum, which was designed from the beginning to balance intellectual challenges with reflection and emotional security.

"The curriculum we apply gives space for every child to feel safe enough to say 'I can't yet', then have enough confidence to try again. That's where the real learning happens," said Ezra.

Schools need to be present as a safe space that respects the process, does not stigmatize mistakes, and does not worship academic achievements. In Ezra's view, the future of education must be designed to answer the basic emotional needs in shaping the child's personality holistically.

"Education in the future cannot be lopsided, it must balance intellectual ability with self-awareness, emotional maturity, and human values so that children really grow as a complete human being," concluded Ezra.