One of the things that breaks my heart is knowing that my students deal with varying degrees of anxiety for a variety of reasons, some of whom have been formally diagnosed and are receiving treatment or therapy. My PSI teacher (grade 4) dealt with restless, boisterous, or distracting/distracted students by having them go for a walk through the hallway, touching 50-odd lockers, complimenting someone, and then returning to class. I really liked this idea and explained to my students on day one that, if they were feeling anxious or simply needed a break, that they should simply let me know that they're "taking a walk" and to do a lap around the floor and come back to class. On Wednesday, my 20-2 students were exhibiting their self-portraits for our photography/visual literacy unit, and one of my students, whom I'm particularly concerned about, slipped out of the room without my noticing. I told the students I needed to look for their classmate, and asked a colleague (my mentor teacher, actually, who was prepping in another room) to supervise while I tried to track the student down. While I was frantically searching, the student returned to the room and explained to me later that s/he had just needed a break from the stressful environment, and also apologized for not letting me know (my colleague had had a talk with the student upon his/her return). Frankly, I was delighted and relieved that this student came back to class of his/her own volition. Because attendance tends to be an issue in the -2 classes (often due to family/life situations), one of my primary goals is to make my class a place where the kids want to be. The class community still feels a bit disjointed to me, but group activities and performances are one way we seem to be getting closer.
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Oh Carly, I completely agree with you! I find it so heartbreaking that these students deal with such anxiety and fear. I love your idea (and your PSI teacher's idea) to have students touch lockers and compliment, I think that's so cool.
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Carly Friesen
9/21/2014 06:07:27 am
Thanks so much for your lovely words of encouragement, Johanna!
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