Lack of Empathy for Students is a Huge Issue in the Education Field
Teachers lacking empathy for their students is a huge issue in the education field. Not all but many teachers lack too much empathy for their students of all abilities and differences. This is extremely disrespectful of people's feelings and emotions. Teachers having empathy for their students has a strong impact on their students' mental health and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).
What annoys me the most about this issue is when teachers tell their students to "stop crying." These educators will do this no matter what the student is crying about even when it is something that would be valid for anyone to cry about. This is also nothing to laugh about because childhood mental health struggles ARE REAL (unfortunately, I'm being serious when I mention that last part. I have actually seen not all but many educators just laugh when the topic of childhood mental health struggles are mentioned because they do not take it seriously and truly believe that children struggling with their mental health is not possible when it is). If a child gets upset about anything at school, they should be allowed to cry about it no matter how old they are and no matter what it is about. Age has nothing to do with who is and is not allowed to cry because everyone of all ages cries when they get upset sometimes, it is okay to not be okay, and all ages have mental health.
Related Links:
- Trauma-Informed Care and Education Practices in Infant Classrooms
- Trauma-Informed Practices for Supporting Children with Incarcerated Parents
There are a variety of ways to support children's mental health. Children should be taught how to use their words to describe their feelings and be allowed to express their emotions through safe actions because these are life skills. If a child is crying because of separation anxiety from a family member, caregiver, and/or someone else, the teachers should comfort the child and provide them with developmentally-appropriate (DAP) self-care techniques also known as coping mechanisms (whichever you prefer to call it) to help them regulate their emotions to improve. If a child is upset over getting in trouble, a teacher should let them cry, validate their feelings by saying, "It is okay to be upset/angry/unhappy/scared/etc.", and also help them to understand that what they did is wrong and the consequences. Despite their misbehavior, I still provide them with self-care techniques if they need help with calming themselves in this type of situation. While validating feelings and emotions, it is still important to suggest self-care techniques and solutions to work on problem-solving skills. When they are crying, I tell them, "I will wait until you are ready" to give them a chance to let out their emotions and be calm enough to talk about what happened. When students are upset, teachers should comfort them and provide reassurance instead of telling them to "stop." Try to get their mind focused on positive things as positive distractions and build their growth mindset to promote a sense of hope and boost their self-esteem. (Note that these things will not cure mental health conditions but can improve their struggles.) No teacher should ever tell a student to stop crying or that it is silly for them to be upset because everyone experiences their mental health differently and all feelings are valid and need to be welcomed as we educators should be making school feel like a safe and welcoming space for everyone. To have a positive classroom environment, not only should it be safe and clean, but the teachers should show that they are trustworthy, caring, supportive, and judgement-free and stand up for their students when they see others judging them. In addition, teachers should be teaching these mental health support practices to their students and even incorporate this topic into their lessons in order to recognize its importance. All of this makes a trauma-informed classroom and serves as providing emotional support.
Related Links:
- How to Talk to Someone with Suicidal Thoughts
- Bullying is One of the Leading Causes of Suicide
- 100 Reasons to Stay Alive
Letting people cry is actually more positive because it lets them express their emotions and comfort shows that other people care about the way the person is feeling and understand that they are upset. One of the major aspects of the classroom is making it a positive environment anyway; so since showing empathy for others' feelings and emotions is positive shouldn't teachers be showing empathy for their students to give them positive school experiences?
It is not good for anyone to bottle up their feelings and emotions and so sometimes it is good to cry as we are letting out our emotions and expressing ourselves. What someone is crying over may be "not that big of a deal" to you, but if they are crying, then it is clearly a big deal to them. Like I said, validate their feelings by stating the above prompt in the second to last paragraph before this one.
Anxiety can be part of any disability even if it is not a mental illness and people need to understand that while anxiety should not be used as an excuse for not trying to get help, anxiety could be the reason why some people cry and get upset so much. Anxiety can be invisible too and these constant emotional struggles are sometimes even a trauma response. Sometimes there are people of all ages, differences, abilities, and backgrounds who have experienced trauma and it is unknown because that person is too intimidated or triggered to speak up about it. So, when they are expressing unhappy feelings and emotions, support NEEDS to be provided because no one ever knows what battles anyone is going through no matter who it is. Not recognizing all of this and the lack of empathy and mental health support could worsen the person's mental health whether they have a disability/are already struggling with their mental health or not to the point where they could be at-risk for severe depression and even suicide. You could think someone has it all together or is fine, but you could be wrong, and it is so scary that it could be anyone even people you know. Every mental health journey is different. I take having empathy for everyone very seriously since there is a worldwide severe mental health crisis so always be kind and supportive of everyone.
Related Links:
- Trauma's Impact on Mental and Physical Health Can Be Really Scary
- When Trauma Gets Trapped in the Body Mind and Spiritual Self
- How to Talk to Someone with Suicidal Thoughts
- 100 Reasons to Stay Alive
If you are an educator looking for ways to support your students' mental health, here are some trauma-informed care and education resources listed below:
- Mental health and trauma informed related Child Care Education Institute (CCEI) courses at www.cceifame.com : Coping with Crises and Traumatic Events - ADM107, Establishing Trauma Informed Practices in Early Learning Environments - SOC108, Promoting Empathy and Other Prosocial Behaviors - SOC104, Supporting Children and Families Who Have Been Through Trauma - SOC110, Building Resilience - SOC109, Children and Grief - SOC111, and Building Social and Emotional Competence - SOC107, The Value of Mindfulness in Early Childhood Settings - SOC106, Healthy Social and Emotional Development vs. Challenging Behavior in Young Children - SOC101, Bullying in the Preschool Environment - GUI100, Child Abuse: Signs of Abuse and Reporting Requirements for Early Childhood Professionals - CCEI112A, Children and Divorce - CCEI950, Brain Development and the Effects of Early Deprivation - CCEI120, and Child Abuse: The Impact of Maltreatment on Relationship Skills and Bonding - CCEI112D
- Trauma-Informed Education and Care Certification: https://resilienteducator.com/programs/certificates/trauma-resilience/
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