Reply to Children's mental health and the pandemic

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote] The training is specific to her condition. Her weekly sessions with the therapist can only go so far, she needs reinforcement on a daily basis. It's actually not complicated to learn and certainly doesn't require 8 hours of training. But the training is absolutely essential. The alternative is my child remains severely impaired, so I do not have a choice about wherher to ask the teacher to do this.[/quote]

You’re getting into the weeds. Your OP was about general mental health issues and not your child’s specific condition.

As a teacher I always welcome the opportunity to support my students in any way I can. Parents may forget, though, that while you ask a teacher to do this for your child, dozens of other parents have their own requests about supporting their children. It can be a LOT to juggle on top of everything else we do, which is why you are having teachers push back a little.

I have students with severe mental health issues and it would be unwise of me to pretend to know how to address those beyond sample measures like compassion, encouragement, and modifications as directed by a counselor or social worker. A trained mental health provider is a far better resource.[/quote]

Believe me, I know perfectly well my child's teacher has a LOT on her plate. I don't WANT to ask her for help, but I have to. Many teachers don't realize how excrutiating it is to be the parent of a child with special needs. We would love to not have to ask for anything and not be the family that causes inconveniences.

I can only to my experience of the parent of a child with mental illness (which you are alleging is somehow irrelevant to "general mental health issues", whatever that means, but you should really read the article to know what it is about, I don't think it is what you think it is about), but this is why that part of the article I posted rung very true for me. I honestly think a lot of the reaction to that piece of the article on this thread stems from ignorance.

[/quote]

Do you really understand how much is on your teacher’s plate? I’m a teacher. I work over 70 hours a week. I receive emails weekly from many parents about their own children’s social/emotional needs. I get it. I also really care. But how can I reasonably provide effective SE services to so many desperate students while simultaneously being responsible for educational content? I am one person, yet I’m currently being asked to do the work of three or four. I put in the extra 30 hours a week because I DO care, and I give up every lunch to sit with students who need me because I do care. Here’s the problem: I have my own special needs child at home. I have to also budget getting her to therapy sessions (two different types) and be a part of her support team at her school. I am up to my ears in social/emotional needs, both at home and at work. I care about your child, but I am also caring for about 30 others and my own children.

Here’s another thought: your teachers aren’t doing well. I find colleagues crying regularly after school now. They are stretched too thin and responsible for too much. It’s taking a toll and we are losing more teachers at the end of the year. It’s time for solutions that don’t involve putting MORE on teachers. We care, but we can’t do it all. It isn’t fair to expect it.[/quote]

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