How important is mental health in the classroom, and how exactly can it be implemented effectively?
I wish I could say I look back fondly on my first day of the school year. However, like many others, my high school career was less than admirable. Throughout high school, I was isolated, misunderstood, unhappy and felt like an outcast among my peers. Signs of mental illness began to manifest in the form of Anorexia Nervosa, self-harm and acute anxiety, and I found it very difficult to be around people.
That was over ten years ago.
Things have changed in regards to education, however, as I mentioned in my recent post, mental health training doesn’t appear to be one of them. Instances of stress and mental illness among young people are on the rise, and I assumed that things would have progressed in regards to mental health training.
Discussing Mental Health In The Classroom;
By A New Dawn.
My fourthteeth year of teaching began this week. I’m currently in my second year at Abbott Middle School where I teach sixth grade Math, and seventh/eighth grade advanced computers.
I want to share not only the circles that I do weekly but also how I incorporate mental health into my daily teaching routine.
Lately, I’ve started circles in my classroom based on the Positive Behavioural Interventions & Supports (PBIS), Restorative Practices, and Mindfulness ideologies, but with a twist. Every Wednesday we break away from our typical classroom groups. Instead, desks are pushed to the side and we talk, express ourselves, breathe, release stress/anxiety, listen to each other and gain insight into other’s perspectives.
All of this in combination aids in teaching children about positive mental health in the classroom. It also helps reinforce positive coping techniques and empathy for others.
Why Looking After Mental Health is Important?
- It gives students a safe place to be themselves and release the pressures of middle school.
- Helps students build an understanding of how others feel and creates empathy.
- It builds a community wherein students feel listened to and know that I, as a teacher, care.
- By sharing my strategies and results in the classroom, other teachers may be enticed into giving it a try. This would, therefore, expand the reach of mental health in the classroom.
- The nation is currently full of people who are stressed. Families are struggling and children are entering middle school surrounded by adult themes, making it hard to focus on academics. We need to create time within our busy schedules to allow breathing and reflection and should be reminded of the importance until it becomes a habit.
- Nationally, we’ve people suffering from severe anger issues, and school/community shootings are steadily rising.
- Mindful, relaxed and reflective people are less likely to pick up a weapon.
Many teachers mightn’t feel comfortable or feel that there isn’t enough time to complete these circles.
However, the importance of mental health in the classroom is evident. My goal in all this is to help my students, our community and our nation as a whole within the scope of my upcoming blog posts. I’ll be sharing any general topics that we talk about, as well as lessons we do, and how we’ve made a difference in the lives of these kids.
I currently host a podcast focused on reducing the stigma of mental health. My guests share their experiences in life and what would have helped them, and approximately 98% of my guests had negative middle school or school experiences. This has driven me to become an advocate for my students, offering support through counselors and various other sources. I entered teaching for the purpose of encouraging kids learning, and mental health is such a huge part of life that needs to be explored.
A New Dawn is currently working on a curriculum book based on her classroom work, how she performs circles, and how she engages mental health in the classroom. The hope is that this will be released during the school year or on TPT. If you have any comments or feedback, A New Dawn would hear from you and promises to respond personally.
30 Comments
Paying attention to kids’ development in middle school is something I’m currently focused on with my own in this age range. A lot of changes, hormones and peer pressure coming together. Kids really need guidance and coping strategies. Thank you for a great post.
Very insightful post. Being a teacher and guiding others feels great. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for stopping by and reading.
Thank you for reading and thank you for continuing to focus on child development, especially at such a crucial age!
It’s such a perfect time to talk about it! I hate stigmas and ignorance, it doesn’t change the problem!
Exactly! Here in NI we could really do with more mental health time in the classrooms.
We need more teachers with your care and concern! Love that you are doing this! I am in my 30s and I struggle with anxiety. It’s so encouraging to read posts such as this!
Thank you for stopping by and reading. A New Dawn is doing an excellent job in helping children in the classroom. I wish I had more teachers like this.
This is such an important topic. I really hope that we {as a culture} continue to give this the attention it deserves. Thank you for sharing. ❤️
Thank you for stopping by and reading. I really appreciate your kindness 🙂
Congratulations on 14 years of teaching! You sound like a lovely, caring teacher. I love your Wednesday support group time idea. Students go through way too much emotionally and mentally these days. You’re doing a great thing 🙂
Thank you for commenting on this. A New Dawn is doing an excellent job in her classroom!
Mental health is so important in the classroom! Thank you for doing this for your classroom. I would highly appreciate this if my teacher ever did this for me.
Erika Marie | https://imerikamarie.com
Thank you for your kind response. A New Dawn is doing a great job as a teacher, I wish more teachers had done this for me.
Congratulations, I too am in year 14 of teaching. You’re right PBIS has been a positive start, but even more is required by teachers to address mental health and many of us feel ill equipped to help our students. You’re to be commended for implementing measures in your room, like your circles to help your students. I’d love to read a follow on exactly what they entail and student’s perceptions of them.
I’m not sure its good enough to simply incorporate strategies. We must also look at what causes the stress. Is it bullying? Too much homework? Exam pressure? We talk about work life balance in adults but I’m not seeing the same approach being taken to childrens stress.
Mental health within my classroom when I was a teacher was always something we incorporated (slightly easier as a primary teacher so I was with my class all year, every day) — thanks for sharing your perspectives as this is something more schools need to have a policy.
Really good blog, think it so important that we make this subject more prominent within schools. Well done 🙏
The name of my blog BraveTalk originated as an app idea geared towards improving the mental health of preteens and young teens. Ultimately, I felt that an app would be too exposing and leave kids too vulnerable to predators. The reason I went with an app in the first place though is because I thought that maybe schools were doing too much already. But maybe schools just need a refocus. It’s convenient and simple to add mental health to a school’s prerogative, because kids spend most of their time there.
It would be a lot simpler to target kids in the school environment. As you mentioned, they spend most of their time there and they also trust the adults who are looking after them during that time period. Mental health and mindfulness awareness is very much needed in schools, and needs to be dished out to the pupils within it so they can best look after themselves as they grow older. Thank you so much for stopping in and reding 🙂
I applaud this teacher for going out of her way to make time for the students mental health, and allowing them time to just talk about what’s going on.
I really wish there was more of this in all areas of life tbh.
This is such a important topic to start introducing in the classroom. Chances are, you will encounter some type of stress in your life and it is so important to be able to cope with that. I personally struggled with bad anxiety when I attended a university. If only had I known had to deal with it, I may have been able to overcome it quicker.
I feel the same. If I had been taught about how to cope I might not now be struggling with it so much. It’s harder to change as you get older, so thats why it’s good to teach people when they are younger.
I know, she’s an inspiration! I think what she is trying to do is amazing and I hope more teachers get on board.
Asking teachers to be psychiatrist is stupid. Tough Enough we have an Arizona one of the worst education systems in the country. Now we’re supposed to look out for potential Mass Shooters every time a kid does something. What a joke
I don’t think it’s a matter of looking out for mass shooters, there is far more to it than that. It’s about actually talking to kids, making them feel listened to and teaching them how to communicate their feelings and struggles effectively, rather than internalising them. It’s not about stopping shooters, although that would be a bonus, it’s about teaching healthy coping techniques for emotional distress while young so that they can be used as they get older, rather than turning to harmful things such as self-harm etc. Teachers are not being asked to be psychiatrists, they are being asked to step up as mentors and a listening ear for kids. There is a distinct difference between psychiatry and being there for someone.
In the UK I am thankful we don’t have the issue of mass shooting but we have big problems with mental health. Social media is making kids mental health problems worse and should be more restricted to stop kids being on there.
It certainly is and it’s primarily due to the ‘Real Life V Online’ persona that most adopt. I made the decision in Feb to just unfollow or remove people or sites that didn’t serve me, and it’s been so, so much easier.
There have been small steps in the right direction in America. Most schools have an in-house counselor or two now, even in the younger grades. But unfortunately, many of them are very limited in how they are able to help the students. My son was a psychology major in college and also worked part time in the public school system while he was finishing his degree. He wanted to do some sort of counseling for the kids, but he ended up not going in that direction because he said the job description was so limiting that it wasn’t enough help for the kids. Maybe over time that can improve and more beneficial help can be given.
That’s good to hear. I can’t say I know much about how we’re getting on over here in regards to MH in the classroom. I would like to think it’s gotten better but I very much doubt it.