Laura Fernandez is a co-worker at Rise Kohyang Middle School.
As a teacher, one thing that I want my students to leave my classroom with is a sense of feeling loved and cared for. One way in which I do this (or try to) is by creating lessons for my advisory in which they have different outlets for stress or any overwhelming feelings.
Early on in the school year, my students and I were having a conversation about panic attacks, mental health, and the stigma that comes with it. As I talked about my personal experiences, I started tearing up. I was being very vulnerable with my students, and I was so glad to find that they could be vulnerable within our classroom as well. Students started sharing stories about experiences that they have had with feeling sad, suicide, anxiety, and more. It was a beautiful moment where we were all able to reassure each other. My students were able to see that they are not alone in feeling overwhelmed with these emotions; everyone deals with hard times throughout their lives, but not everyone shares about their feelings.
My students’ feelings reflected how I felt for a long portion of my life, especially during middle school. Suicidal thoughts would roam through my mind, but instead of finding an outlet for my feelings, I always held everything in and put a smiling face for the world. I can’t take all the problems my students have away, but I created additional activities for my lesson plan in which students could have some sort of outlet every day. On Mondays we have mindfulness/breathing, Tuesdays are for coloring, Workout Wednesdays, Reading Thursdays, and Journaling Fridays. I want my students to see that self-care is important, and that there are many ways in which someone can work on “self-care.”
