Based upon your observations and experience in your classroom and school what are your ideas for improving mental wellness for your students? For your fellow educators? For yourself?
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Responses
Clare O.
Moderator Pick
State-wide ways to help?
I know there is some legislation started somewhere about ensuring recess for students, or even managed breaks for upper level students. Why is recess not counted as time on learning? We know that breaks are important to their brain development.
Similarly, is there a way to ensure that each school has certified support from nurses, guidance counselors, librarians? With budget variations in each city and town, coverage in these areas is problematic. Those positions support students AND staff.
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Jen T.
Moderator Pick
Prioritize Mental and Behavioral Health to Improve Overall Well Being
Budgeting for more counselors and school-based clinicians, and providing clinical supervision for those individuals would be great! For districts that are not making that happen for whatever reason, here are some other ideas.
Psychoeducation for students, their families, and staff is a must. Whether it is Mental Health 101, Generalized Anxiety, Depression, or other topics like social anxiety and school avoidance, even suicidality. We must accurately inform our students, staff, and communities, and normalize their feelings, symptoms, and related behaviors, in order to reduce stigma and harsh judgment of ourselves and from others. It’s also important…
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Director of Cooperative Education
For students, they need built education and time in the school day for social emotional education and well being.
For educators, districts need to provide onsite mental health professionals for them to access personally. Educators need to be educated on how to approach organically incorporating social emotional learning beyond SEL courses.
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Restorative Circles as Tier I Practices
Students need time to hear each other talking about their feelings, and to learn how to listen. I find Restorative Circles very popular, even though it takes a little time for some middle schoolers (and even high schoolers) to learn how to participate respectfully.
When a student made fun of the process, I talked to him after and said, "Look, see how the students rejected you today. You don't make friends when you do this. I know you have a lot of pain and that makes you angry, but if you can learn to take this…
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Student breaks and Manageable Educator Workloads
First and foremost, administration needs to recognize and prioritize mental well-being of both students and staff.
Different students respond to different strategies at different times. The one strategy that I found very effective was to take a 15 minute movement break outside, mid morning. Instead of having a "working snack", for 2 school years I took my 20 students outside where they ate a snack, socialized and played a game such as four square or wall ball. This break allowed them to practice social skills, get some exercise and when we re-entered the class, I found my students…
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