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Today, people from all walks of life are trying to end the stigmas surrounding mental health. While this crusade has culminated in a wealth of positive projects, few employ children as their target audiences. Aiming to change this, teachers across the country are creating “Mental Health Check-in” boards that allow struggling students to get the support they need.
Like a traditional wall chart you'd find in a classroom, these colorful boards are intended for children to interact with. Each one features a series of rows representing different states of mental well-being, from “I'm great” at the top to “not so great” or “in a dark place” at the bottom. In order to indicate where they stand, the students write their names on the back of a Post-it note and stick it somewhere on the spectrum.
Why is this classroom tool suddenly so popular? Last month, a photo featuring one of these charts went viral on Facebook. This specific board was traced to 8th grade English teacher Jessie Cayton, who revealed that high school English teacher Erin Castillo was behind the idea.
“I had a lot of ‘perfect teachers' growing up, but as educators there is a simple way to break down the stigma around mental health,” Castillo explains on Instagram. “Show your struggles. Talk about your strategies for overcoming them. Explain how everyone faces difficulties. Encourage feelings to be shared rather than pushed down. If there’s anything I’ve learned over my 6 years of teaching it’s that most kids WANT to talk, they just aren’t sure who to talk to or how to do it.”
Several other educators have since crafted and shared their own Mental Health Check-in boards, and Erin Castillo is even offering a free, printable version. Hopefully, this is one teaching trend that is here to stay!
Teachers are creating “Mental Health Check-in” boards in order to offer struggling students support.
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This trend was started by Erin Castillo, a high school English teacher who believes that “most kids WANT to talk, they just aren’t sure who to talk to or how to do it.”
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Fortunately, with this chart, these children can finally have the outlet they need.
h/t: [Upworthy]
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