Five Concepts to Cultivate a Compassionate Culture via a Largely Mental Health Lens

By Scott B. Freiberger

For many students, these past few years have been far beyond banal (an austere advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General should be a clarion call to inform us all).?Disconnected from daily school life and largely separated by screens, it’s imperative for students, especially in buildings, to build a basic sense of belonging, keep kindness in their consciousness, and encounter intercultural connections. ?Tens of terrific tenets, such as establishing self-efficacy, augmenting self-awareness, setting great goals, co-acting, co-functioning, cooperating, and collaborating, need to be mindfully modeled and explicitly instructed. Research [also] affirms that access to interconnected resources will further improve school climate…[and] student equity . ?Here are five concepts to cultivate a compassionate school culture via a largely mental health lens.

1. Highlight Health, Safety, and Clear Communication in the Community

First, formulate a school safety plan and establish a window during each week to communicate policies, procedures, and best practices with parents, families, and guardians.?Make your Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) clear and easy for families to follow.?An over-abundance of continual questions means school representatives are not responding to queries lucidly and in a timely manner.?For example, Principal Brian McConaghy at Herricks Middle School in Albertson, New York established an informational Zoom room to connect with parents and families every Friday.?This helps his proactive leadership team to heal potential headaches and mitigate myriad potential misgivings while kindling continued communication in the community.

Other school leaders have held meet-and-greets or town hall meetings to provide practical publications, impart important information, and prepare for a safe re-opening.?Addressing apprehensions and making information available for parents and families also tends to establish transparency and trust. Finally, implementing a unified communications platform such as ParentSquare could also enhance engagement via voice messages, applicable alerts, and if a polyglot pedagogue like me is unavailable, has the ability to translate messages.

Parents are pertinent learning partners for their children’s education, and keeping them informed should not get lost in the pandemic writing pad.?Pinging parents with pertinent information helps teachers ensure that scholars are on track to complete work at home and submit work on time.?Involved parents could also help ensure children are rewarded when they meet measurable classroom goals.?If students are struggling, parents could also offer myriad insights as to why, and suggest strategies for strengthening instruction.?Finally, parents should receive recognition for their sustained support during this trying time.

Allay parental concerns as best as humanly possible.?Above all, remain composed and confident that the school is taking all necessary steps to ensure an exceptional educational experience for all.?

2. Students Gel Well with SEL

This is truly a tumultuous time, with variants of the novel pandemic Coronavirus still circulating.?With counselors who support students’ emotional and mental health available, inform students and their families about current challenges, relevant resources, and the momentousness of caring for mental health.?With mental health training, teachers could also help ensure every scholar feels supported, comfortable, and valued. ?

By many state and national measures, children’s behavioral health worsened during the pandemic[,] and many children are developmentally behind in social, emotional, and behavioral skills. ?Given the need to raise students’ academic readiness coupled with emotional regulation, professional development that emphasizes authenticity, consistency, and empathy should prove superb for scaffolding students’ academic and social skills.?Educators could also remain cognizant of special needs students, because research indicates that students with disabilities are disciplined at least 2.5 times more often than [their] non-disabled peers.

It would also make sense for schools to emphasize trauma-informed learning to ensure students connect, reflect, and share feelings and thoughts in addition to authentic work artifacts .?Whether in brick-and-mortar buildings, online virtual environments, or a blended batch, creating a safe, healthy space for students should lead to more desirable discussions and original outcomes.?Provide positive, social-emotional learning (SEL)-related professional development and empower educators to create, teach, practice, and reflect in an upward spiral of cognitive collaboration coupled with collegiality.?

3. Infuse CRT to Increase School-Wide Peace

Teachers may also want to try Culturally-Responsive Teaching (CRT) , pedagogy that not only acknowledges, but also celebrates the beauty of cultural diversity and provides classroom equity and curricular access across grades.??CRT is said to promote positive perspectives and complement contemporary classroom instruction within cultural contexts.

With high expectations for student achievement and the teacher as facilitator rather than lecturer, the syllabus is student-centered, sparking student choice and vivid voice, more than mere motivation.?Resources may include readers and supplementary supplies, and activities authenticate students’ backgrounds.?Learning is cooperative and inclusive, and integrated units may revolve around pertinent projects and timely themes.?Remaining flexible, open-minded, and good-natured also transcends cultural borders.

4. Calm Down Corner? Try a Zen Den!

Next, classroom teachers could support students as they introduce ideas, reflect on feelings, and acknowledge actions . Try a virtual treasure trove of enticing options with a unique calm down corner .?Start with a Google Jamboard to provide students opportunities to reflect, refine, and sort their thoughts as to what hobbies may interest them.?Consider meditation for children , become mindful with kids yoga , provide virtual notebooks for students to capture inspiration, or create subject-specific headbands for students to talk about unique talents , and celebrate cultural differences . ?You may also want to consider the beauty of Native American culture .??

Or, pick a pen and plan a place where students can yen for zen.?A classroom “zen den ” may include a really relaxing rug, trendy teepee or tent, or simply a mindful yoga mat.?Providing a safe, supervised space for students to temporarily de-stress may help ameliorate adverse attitudes, promote peace, re-direct misdirection, and re-focus lesson framing to boost student confidence and foster more favorable classroom behaviors. Producing a protocol to have in place can help students to embrace practical skills to identify stressors, utilize resources to manage stress, and increase overall well-being .?Pedagogues may also want to try using the Calm app before taking a scholastic nap.

5. Praise the Process

Esteemed media mogul Oprah Winfrey commented, “I will tell you that there have been no failures in my life...There have been some tremendous lessons.”?Model for children that not only do we all make mistakes, but we may also grow exponentially from them.?In our current school systems, children are typically judged based on the work products that they produce, while the learning journey tends to be largely ignored.?

Praising students’ efforts across classrooms may bolster self-esteem, garner greater understanding, and encourage uncommon undertakings.?Throughout the learning process, celebrate student success often.?Instill pride in ongoing progress as well as summative accomplishments.?As Henry B. Adams had mused, “A teacher affects eternity; [she or] he can never tell where [her or] his influence stops.”?

Communicate More and See Students Soar

Setting students up for success is like building an extensive airplane runway.?Once you establish a strong educational foundation, there’s no limit to how far and how fast your students can soar.?So fine-tune your engine, familiarize yourself with your students, their families, and other key stakeholders, build upon a warm, welcoming school culture, and perhaps most important, never lose sight of the fact that all students have intrinsic value.?Especially in this new normal, empower all students to delve into determination and discover happiness, health, hope, and purpose.????????

This article initially appeared here .

BIO

Scott Freiberger is an attentive administrator and a passionate pedagogue who advocates for ELLs/MLLs and students with special needs. Follow him on Twitter: @scottfreiberger