When you facilitate lessons about mental health and well-being, students will likely have emotional responses to this content. Sometimes, these emotional responses are obvious, and sometimes, it’s challenging to tell how students are truly feeling. Regardless of what you see, encouraging students to process their feelings about what they are learning is a helpful way to ensure they are getting the most out of the lessons.
There are a few helpful ways that you can do this:
1. Ask students how they feel
For example, you can ask students directly how they feel about the content they are learning and give them a space to talk about those feelings in a safe manner. They might feel excited to learn skills to help themselves in various situations, and they might also feel nervous, sad, or even angry to be talking about well-being challenges. Let students know that all of these feelings are valid and it’s okay to express them.
Note: If students feel uncomfortable with the content, it’s a sign that they might be struggling with their mental health. Consider whether a referral to a school counselor might be a good idea.
2. Encourage students to reflect on their responses
For example, if a student lets you know that they feel sad about any of the content, you can respond by telling them that this is a perfectly normal response, and see if they would like to discuss why they are feeling that way (either with you or with a school counselor/trusted adult). Sharing your own feelings can be a really helpful tool for helping students reflect in a safe way (e.g., “Talking about challenges can make me feel sad too because it causes me to think about other sad things in my life).
Note: If students are expressing a lot of resistance to the lesson content, this is often a sign that exploring emotions is a new and uncomfortable skill for them. Meet your students where they are, and consider trying the most easily accessible lessons (e.g., Brain Breaks) as a place to start building up this skill set before moving on to more complex content. Contact us on the chat to ask for help choosing lessons!
3. Encourage students to accept their own emotions
For example, if a student identifies that they are feeling anxious about a lesson, you can let them know that you understand and that it’s ok for them to feel that way. By showing them that you can handle their emotions without needing to ‘fix’ them, they learn that they can handle these emotions too. You can let them know that feeling anxious is not a reason not to do something that we know can help us, it just lets us know that we need to take care of ourselves while we are doing it. You can also encourage them to think of a way to support themselves so that they can continue with their learning!
Note: Sometimes, students are feeling anxious about lesson content because they are really struggling with something that is impacting their mental health, and they need more support to address their underlying challenges. It is always a good idea to refer students to a mental health professional to get the help they need while also reminding them that they are strong and resilient and can learn to help themselves.
If you would like tips on how to manage students who make jokes or laugh instead of engaging in the content, please see our Help Article: When Students Make Fun of the Content.
If you would like more information on reinforcing and facilitating meaningful student learning throughout the school day, refer to our Help Article: Scaffolding Opportunities.