I applied into the classroom specialist strain of the Queens PME program in January of 2021. In my application I wrote about how I wanted to learn more about supporting my students’ mental wellbeing in the classroom as well as more about supporting students in regulating their emotions. In this blog, I look forward to exploring the topics that I initially set out to learn.
The week before this course started, I received my fall issue of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation Bulletin. I was excited to see that it included an article about student mental health and an upcoming workshop that I have now signed up for, as well as pointing out resources for teachers to learn more about supporting their students’ mental wellbeing. I am glad that mental wellness is being talked about more and more. It is so important. I personally believe, that we cannot teach students who are dysregulated or in a state of mental crisis. It is imperative that we help them regulate, and work through their state of fight, flight, or freeze. As the article states, COVID-19 has had a large impact on our students’ mental wellbeing. I also feel as though now more than ever before, students are lacking coping skills to help them work through their emotions, are lacking social skills and are often stuck when they are in a crisis state. We as people, are emerging from a strange couple of years, many of us are traumatized and we are extremely disconnected. A concept from author, Jody Carrington, that has stuck with me since reading her book Kids These Days, a few years ago, is that ‘attention-seeking’ behaviour is ‘connection-seeking’ behaviour. This is something that I want to explore further. As I learn more, I hope to:
References Writer, S. (2022). Tell Me More About Student Mental Wellness St. Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation Bulletin. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from https://www.stf.sk.ca/about-stf/news/stf-bulletin.
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