Student and teacher mental health awareness is a difficult topic to tackle as students return to the classroom.
Schools are where many of us spend a good part of our lives from preschool to elementary school, then middle school to high school, and for many college or vocational schools. Some of us receive degrees in higher education that take another two to 10 years to complete. Then, many adults choose to return to schools after college graduation as teachers and educational staff.
For children who are still in the kindergarten to the 12th-grade range, most of their world from August to May consists of school. We know the feeling of going up a grade each year, with increased expectations and assignments. For students, this can be a cause of stress and other negative emotions. For teachers, the constant pressure for student success on top of every other day-to-day demand is a major cause of stress.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “Many mental health conditions first appear in youth and young adults, with 50% of all conditions beginning by age 14 and 75% by age 24.”
Schools are a place to learn and grow together, and they strive to be positive and safe places where students and teachers feel welcomed and encouraged daily. However, mental health problems are as prevalent as ever and it’s important that both students and teachers receive the validation and support to be successful and to maintain a healthy school environment.
Student Mental Health
Mental health is not just an issue seen in young adults. The CDC reports, “One in six U.S. children aged 2–8 years (17.4%) had a diagnosed mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder.” While these range in severity, the fact that they are still present is something for parents and teachers to be aware of.
Additionally, “About three in four children aged 3-17 years with depression also have anxiety (73.8%) and almost one in two have behavior problems (47.2%)” (CDC). As parents and teachers, we want students to feel confident and successful in all areas of their life. We get to be the people they turn to when they are in need of support, and we get to be the link that connects them to the appropriate resources. Students need to know that their emotions are valid and natural, it’s OK to be upset and stressed. It’s normal. They also need to know that when they are feeling that way, especially if it’s consistent, there are people and tools available to help and guide them.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness also states, “Undiagnosed, untreated, or inadequately treated mental illnesses can significantly interfere with a student’s ability to learn, grow and develop.”
Local school districts, the CDC website, and pediatricians are where families can start researching specific tools to help their children and make a solidified plan to fully support them.
Encouraging proper nutrition, regular physical activity, and quality time together are a few simple ways that parents can help with regulating their child’s mental health. In schools, teachers can try to incorporate movement throughout the day, even by simply having students stand and stretch by their desks for several minutes. Teachers can also help create a safe environment for students where social-emotional learning is incorporated into the day in some capacity.
However, teachers are constantly adapting to the needs of their community and incorporating new strategies in their classrooms. In addition to students, teachers also need mental health support in schools.
Teacher Mental Health
All educational staff members seem to have an endless to-do list to tackle every hour. Teachers must create lesson plans that fit the needs of each individual in their class while also ensuring they are teaching every state standard by the end of the year. For most who teach third grade and higher, they are trying to get through as many standards as possible by the time state testing begins in the spring.
Add this onto every other task for teachers, especially those added since the pandemic, and it is a stressful career. If teachers are not at a supportive school, these stressors become more difficult to deal with.
The CDC found, “In a March 2020 survey, teachers were asked to describe the emotions they felt most often each day. Anxiety was by far the most common.” The CDC Foundation discovered that since February 2020, 53% of teachers have wanted to leave the profession. Since that time the CDC Foundation also reports, “27% of teachers self-reported symptoms consistent with clinical depression and 37% self-reported symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety.”
Schools should recognize the achievements of all staff members and celebrate even the little things. Teachers should also make sure that they are eating well, getting physical activity either in or outside of school, and that they are setting healthy boundaries between their professional and personal lives. If necessary, these adults should reach out to a counselor to receive certified mental health support and know that this is a perfectly acceptable choice to make.
Above all, families and teachers need to practice patience, compassion, and understanding with each other in the school setting. Members of the school community should help support and encourage each other and understand that mental health is just as important as physical health and it is key to a thriving school.
