Building Community and Supporting Mental Well Being

by | Aug 31, 2020 | Engaging in Courageous Conversations, Promoting Collaborative Learning Cultures

With so many boards choosing so many formats for what learning looks like, I know there is much anxiety about how to deliver curriculum. And yet, we need to recognize that students coming back may be just as anxious as we are and may have burdens at home which we have no idea about!

Mental Health Check In and Community Building Ideas

The GEG Ontario group hosted a webinar last week with ideas for community building.

I was not able to make the panel discussion, but I was able to create a video about how to create a Google Form and add conditional formatting to it which Kathy Lott introduced to us. It would make a good, regular morning exercise and allows a teacher to have a visual of how students are doing:

Kathy also shared a School Mental Health Ontario resources, The First 10 Days (and Beyond): Creating Caring Connections and Supporting Student Mental Health and Well-Being During the Return to School.

Watch the entire conversation for helpful ideas and strategies from the awesome GEG Ontario leaders and connect with the GEG for your own questions and ideas here. Not in Ontario? Find a Google Educator Group (GEG) in your area for support.

Taking Action Towards Inclusivity.

@ATCreativeStation on Instagram is posting five actions and ideas to work towards a more inclusive classroom (and Library). The first one focused on How to Get to Know Your Students by Tami Brewster which includes some important considerations for when we create opportunities for students to share about themselves.

 

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1️⃣ Day 1 of #GoBackBetter is a big tip from @brewstami : ask inclusive questions when getting to know our learners. 👉🏾This means getting to know our students’ lived experiences at a broad level before asking questions that assume that folx in our classes have had the opportunity to experience certain privileges. 💕Asking relevant questions and sharing our own experiences helps to build trust, empathy, and understanding as a classroom/school community. ❗️For example, asking our learners “Where did you go during your summer vacation?” or “Did you go camping this summer?” assumes a certain amount of privilege – that students had time off (and their parent(s) or guardian(s)), that travel is accessible to them and their families, and that camping is an activity that is culturally relevant to their families. ❓Framing these questions as… “What was a memorable moment you experienced in the last few months?” “What was a joyful moment you had with others this past month?” …broadens the opportunities for students to access multiple experiences vs. A targeted experience that they may not had. ▶️ Scroll through Tami’s reframed questions this week and share in the comments what (new) inclusive questions you will ask students this September! #gobackbetter #everyonecancreate #challengeforchange #createdforchange #appleeducation #appleeduchat #appleteacher #appledistinguishededucators #equityineducation #antiracismeducation #culturalrelevance #culturalresponsibility ✨ Stay tuned to @atcreativestation for more days of addressing equity and inclusion this Fall (and beyond) with @brewstami @sharon_drummond @misszita @jasontries @teachertong!

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Meditation

My District’s model is to have 150 minutes with students and I know our tendency will be to get as much “learning” into the time. I know that I will be implementing opportunities for quick guided meditations to break up the time. As anxiety has increased for me leading up to the new school year, I have been using the really quick (and free) guided meditations offered by Insight Timer. (web or app). I have also used the Calm app in the past. My friend Jessica Ceci regularly meditated with students for our KickStart Summer school program and students reflected on how they had never done that before, and how it helped them. Meditating and being explicit with students about addressing tension and anxiety and engaging in meditation yourself, will go a long way to helping students to recognize their own triggers. I also tend to make up my own guided meditations based on what’s happening in the class using some of the free music found on YouTube and input from my students.

Self-Care

My friend Allison Fuisz shared the Action for Happiness Self-Care September Calendar with some good reminders for our own self-care.

We know that relationships provide a solid foundation for teaching and learning in normal circumstances and that they are more important than ever before. What are your ideas for community building and mental well-being?