Whole Child Education: Emotional

In education, the social and the emotional aspects of human development are often connected and labeled as social-emotional learning. However, each of these areas is uniquely vital to human flourishing that they deserve to be treated separately. 

Emotional Development

If I was using a Venn diagram to show the interconnectedness of each of the areas of whole-child education, I would be tempted to put "emotional development" in the middle; each of the other areas impacts the emotional health of a student, and the emotional health of a student impacts the other areas.  For example, a student who is depressed is not going to be able to focus on his school work, and a student who performs poorly in his school work can become depressed. A positive example is a student who exercises (physical development) feels more happy as dopamine and endorphins are released through exercise, and a student who feels happy and has a positive self-image will want to be physically active.  The interdependence of a student's emotional health is more prominent than the other elements of whole-child education.

The importance of emotional and mental health for student flourishing is clear. Unfortunately, students (and all humans) seem to be struggling with their emotional health more than ever. There was a recent Gallup poll, published December 7, 2020, that the mental health of Americans is at the worst levels in history (Brenan 2020 ,"Americans Mental Health Ratings Sink to a New Low"). This confirms the alarm raised by the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2018, who highlighted a study that cited up to one in six children (aged 6-17) have a diagnosed mental illness (2019, "One in Six US Children Has a Mental Illness"). Finally, these studies confirm the negative trend over the past 10 years of increases to childhood depression, anxiety, and behavior disorders, according to the CDC. 

The School Counselors' Role

Clearly, emotional and mental health is something that needs to be addressed in the school setting.  Having certified school counselors who are trained to deal with emotional and mental health issues is essential. While often seen as an "extra" staff member who can be outsourced in tight budget years, schools with a whole-child perspective will make counseling staff a priority. The recommended ratios from the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) is one counselor for every 250 students. Designating budget room for counseling is an important step that will pay off in student flourishing. However, the counseling staff needs to be more proactive than reactive to achieve the full benefit.

The counseling staff, of course, can address emotional and mental health crisis situations, e.g., death of a parent, suicidal ideation and actions, student conflict, and home abuse; however, to be most effective, school counselors should focus on proactive educational programming for both teachers and students. Professional development for teachers and school staff members should be a priority of the counseling staff, equipping teachers to deal with and help develop the emotional health of students. This can include formal "trauma informed teaching" workshops, instruction on how to identify at-risk students, and development around how to help without hurting the situation. Counselors should also lead a school's student crisis management team to identify students who are struggling emotionally or with mental illnesses, and develop/implement intervention strategies to help these students thrive.

The counseling staff also needs to take the lead in proactive student instruction in emotional/mental health. This can be from a purchased curriculum (e.g. Harmony SEL ) or self-developed lessons from the vast resources available online. The instruction should be age-appropriate but proactive and focused on providing coping strategies for students (all students) as they encounter stress, depression, and mental health disabilities.

The Teacher's Role

Recently, teacher education programs in colleges and teacher professional development has included more about trauma informed teaching and mental health; this needs to continue. However, this should not be seen as turning teachers into counselors. In fact, one of the most important lessons for teachers to understand is when to refer a student to a counselor. Teachers, primarily, need to understand emotional and mental health and its impact on a student's learning and behavior. Secondarily, teachers need to know how to incorporate emotional development into their classroom structures and lessons. 

While not dealing with emotional crisis situations, teachers can definitely impact student emotional development. Teachers must have a true heart for the students, caring about their emotional health. This manifests itself by teachers assuming a listening posture and a "whatever it takes to help" attitude; this will demonstrate that the teacher cares for the students and that their classroom is a safe emotional space.  Out of this classroom ethos, a teacher will then be able to challenge students to grow as a complete person; students will respond well to being pushed rigorously because they know that the teacher cares for them as a whole person and wants to see them grow.

Schools can also have a school-wide system for emotional learning, e.g., monthly virtues, regular chapels/assemblies, and monthly character awards. Likewise, classroom rhythms/rules can focus on emotional health teaching students coping strategies to manage stress and anxiety, providing learning experiences around topics like grit and resilience, and encouraging students to practice positive mental health and wellness.  

Unfortunately, classrooms/teachers, especially those who over-emphasize academic rigor, often are the causes of student stress, anxiety, feelings of failure, and depression. This emotionally unhealthy classroom environment (typically from the Greek educational philosophy) are also found in schools who hire academic coaches or college/career counselors instead of school counselors trained to work with emotional/mental health and development. This has to change, and a school with a whole-child education philosophy is best prepared to address these concerns.

It all begins from a whole-child (Hebraic) philosophy that loves and cares for the whole person, and then hires teachers, counselors, and staff who align with that perspective. However, counselors can't just wait around for a crisis (even though this may keep them busy); they must think proactively in preparing professional development for teachers and emotional health strengthening lessons for students. 

Working together from a whole-child perspective, schools can begin to change the troubling trends in student mental health into a flourishing future for our students.