Children with Mental Health Disorders from an Elementary Teacher’s Perspective by E.C.
As a retired elementary school teacher pondering the question about how mental health affected my students and my classroom, I am feeling very convicted about how I may have handled the individual needs of my students. I know that on many occasions I tried to make accommodations for the children, but my goal always seemed to be more focused on academics. So much pressure is placed on teachers for their students to succeed that many times, teachers are more focused on academic success.
Some mental health disorders that a teacher cannot overlook deal with a student’s behavior. If a child is diagnosed with ADHD, it is evident in the classroom and more often than not, behaviors need to be corrected. Sometimes, it was just a matter of student placement in the room. Some students could be placed near the front around students who were good influences, and it would be enough. Other students may have been moved to the back of the room to allow for their wiggles not to be distracting to the remainder of the class. Allowing a student to stand at her desk may be all that is needed to aid the student in remaining focused and being successful.
Other mental health issues so often are overlooked. That quiet shy child who is internally suffering from anxiety or depression is viewed to be a well-behaved child because he is not disruptive to the classroom. However, inside, this student may be suffering. If grades are not affected, the student’s suffering often goes unnoticed.
One area that has become even more common in the early grades is bullying. A child who is a bully often is suffering from depression or self-esteem issues. Many teachers are so busy that they overlook the underlying cause for the bullying and may only address the outward behavior. This bullying can have serious consequences on the student who is being bullied. Studies now show that even kindergarten children consider suicide because of being bullied. It is serious. Teachers must become aware of what is going on in the classroom, at lunch, in the halls, on the bus, and on the playground.
In closing, the biggest area of need for our teachers is to be more educated and more aware of mental disorders and how they can best help their students. As already mentioned, teachers are so overloaded with making sure that their students are achieving academically that other areas of need are neglected. No teacher desires to neglect their students’ needs. Most teachers I know desire to be everything that their students need.