By Andrew Simoes
Mental health and well-being, In part thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, have become a bigger and bigger problem in our classrooms. Students with reported mental health issues are skyrocketing and only sadly getting worse. So This raises the question of what we can do as a teacher to help try and fix this issue.
DISCLAIMER: This is a heavy topic, and the information presented is not to be used as a replacement for talking to a therapist and other mental health services. ( Remember, you are not alone(: )
Well-being in the classroom
There are multiple factors that can affect a student’s well-being and mental health.
Some of these include
- stress
- lack of sleep
- Lack of food
- Physical/Mental abuse
- Lack of proper mental hetal resrocs
The picture above is from WE Virtual Learning Web article on mental health and well-being in the classroom.
Social Media
The biggest impact on mental health and the overall well-being of students is social media. Students spend hours and hours scrolling through social media.
Here is a list for WE Virtual Learning of some of the top Social media used by students and their impacts
What to do when a student asks for help
The picture below is a chart that WE give as a guide to help students with their well-being and mental health.
The mental health and well-being of our students should be our top priority as teachers because when a student is both physically and mentally healthy their opportunities t to learn and grow are at their maximum.