Last night, CBC was showcasing Back-to-School experiences and touched upon the opinion that anxiety and depression are increasing at an alarming rate in children. When we think of Back-to-School, all we tend to notice are the sales for new clothes, backpacks and so forth but we do not often recognize the emotional aspect of this sometimes, traumatic event. These invisible disabilities can overwhelm a child, just as they would an adult and we, as teachers, need to be prepared to understand these students’ fears.

Schools invite the whole child. This translates as the whole self, regardless of ethnicity, financial stability, gender, (un)declared identity or invisible ability. If the home environment feels inaccessible, children may grow up frightened to be “wrong”. This fear may lead to anxiety and depression when the emotions are left hidden or ignored, making the school environment just as hostile and intimidating.

If you suspect someone is suffering, don’t leave the symptoms unrecognized but take action. Use this checklist to get more information and to find ways to support your students. Depending on your individual classroom environment and grade level, you could launch Media Literacy with a conversation around these stigmatized issues. Books are great mentor texts to encourage dialogue. Remember, serious illness in the family can trigger anxieties in the child too, so Little Parachutes aim to support those children with their booklist. Taking these initial steps could ensure a safe and secure space for one child to share his own story and for others to learn about compassion.

Tags: back to school, depression and anxiety

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 1st, 2011 at 2:31 am and is filed under Soch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.