For the last few years, it seems like everyone has been struggling. And it’s no wonder. A global pandemic. A contentious election. A racial reckoning. Ongoing conflict, often fueled by social media, where the pandemic led many of us to spend more time than ever. The disequilibrium of our times has affected us all. Our students are no exception.
The most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2023), which includes data from 2011 to 2021, showed growth in the percentage of young people expressing persistent feelings of sadness or contemplating or attempting suicide. Female and LGBQ+ students were more likely to report feelings of sadness or suicidal thoughts. Hispanic and multiracial students expressed more feelings of sadness, and Black students were more likely to attempt suicide. These data tell a story of worsening mental health across the board, with students from marginalized groups experiencing the greatest risk.
These problems are too big for schools to handle on their own, but they’re also too significant for schools to ignore. Students who come to school with mental health challenges are not going to be ready to learn. At the same time, the CDC report notes that feelings of connectedness at school can protect students from negative mental health outcomes.
But addressing students’ mental health needs is no easy task, especially when, as Seth Lipkin of the National Association of School Psychologists explains in this issue, schools lack sufficient mental health personnel. And the teachers who see students every day have their own mental health challenges, as Christine E. Hood and her co-authors tell us in their story of a teacher who felt unheard and unsupported after a violent incident in her classroom.
Still, as difficult as it is, teachers have to take on this responsibility. The teacher in Hood’s story was able to build a relationship with the student who’d lost her trust when he acted violently. He didn’t sense her unease with him, even though it was evident to the researchers observing her classroom, and he thanked her for not giving up on him. This is a positive outcome, but did it have to be so difficult? Could the teacher have been even more supportive of her student if she’d gotten the support she needed?
I find myself coming back to the idea of emotional responsiveness, which Travis Wright discusses in his article. Emotionally responsive teaching focuses on relationships and is intended to promote resilience in both students and teachers. It encourages students and teachers alike to recognize their own and others’ ability to cope, given time, space, and support.
Not everyone has the same experiences, and not everyone responds to challenges in the same way. But everyone has experienced some kind of hurt and would benefit from a culture that focuses on healing. My hope is that the growing awareness of the importance of mental health enables all of us to see our own and others’ vulnerabilities and strengths and to create that kind of culture, both inside and outside our schools.
Reference
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Youth risk behavior survey: Data summary & trends report.
This article appears in the November 2023 issue of Kappan, Vol. 105, No. 3, p. 4.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Teresa Preston
Teresa Preston is an editorial consultant and the former editor-in-chief of Phi Delta Kappan and director of publications for PDK International, Arlington, VA.
Visit their website at: https://prestoneditorial.com/
