3 Ways Teachers Can Help a Grieving Student
When Tragedy Strikes the Classroom!
As an experienced teacher, you already know that younger students who have suffered the loss of a parent or other significant person don't always have the ability to express their feelings in words.
This makes your role as a teacher even more important as you consider the confusing feelings that are taking place. In fact, there are 3 ways teachers can help a grieving student.
Encourage Questions
The very fact that you are a teacher can provide a stabilizing influence for the grieving student.
This means that, just as you have asked questions about academic concerns in the past, you can encourage questions about the grieving student's feelings. Hopefully, they have come to trust you as somewhat of an authority figure.
The idea that you are asking questions and are willing to provide answers about life and death issues helps the grieving student deal with the confusion they probably feel.
Use Visual Resources
Teachers can also help a grieving student through the use of visual resources.
This may sound unusual at first, but think of the well-defined concept of sadness that an adult has compared to a child's more vague sense of the word.
Because your young grieving student is going to be limited in expressing emotional concepts, visual resources can bridge the gap between the child's mind and the adult reality of death.
For example, what does sadness look like if it's drawn as a picture? Do the colors portray the grieving student's feelings in ways that words can't?
The use of visual resources is a good way that teachers can help a grieving student because these give the student a chance to be emotionally spontaneous in artistic ways.
Involve Other Students
Lastly, teachers can help a grieving student by making the grief process an issue for the whole class. In this way, life and death issues can become a learning experience for everyone.
The experiences of a grieving student can become a learning experience for the class as a whole because other students can look for ways to support the grieving student in addition to creating special sympathy cards.
In sum, experienced teachers already know that grieving students don't always have the ability to express feelings in words.
You already serve as a stabilizing and familiar influence to the child, however, as you encourage creative outlets for the confusing feelings of grief and also involve the support of other students as they learn about the issues of life and death.
This makes your role as a teacher even more important as you consider the confusing feelings that are taking place. In fact, there are 3 ways teachers can help a grieving student.
Encourage Questions
The very fact that you are a teacher can provide a stabilizing influence for the grieving student.
This means that, just as you have asked questions about academic concerns in the past, you can encourage questions about the grieving student's feelings. Hopefully, they have come to trust you as somewhat of an authority figure.
The idea that you are asking questions and are willing to provide answers about life and death issues helps the grieving student deal with the confusion they probably feel.
Use Visual Resources
Teachers can also help a grieving student through the use of visual resources.
This may sound unusual at first, but think of the well-defined concept of sadness that an adult has compared to a child's more vague sense of the word.
Because your young grieving student is going to be limited in expressing emotional concepts, visual resources can bridge the gap between the child's mind and the adult reality of death.
For example, what does sadness look like if it's drawn as a picture? Do the colors portray the grieving student's feelings in ways that words can't?
The use of visual resources is a good way that teachers can help a grieving student because these give the student a chance to be emotionally spontaneous in artistic ways.
Involve Other Students
Lastly, teachers can help a grieving student by making the grief process an issue for the whole class. In this way, life and death issues can become a learning experience for everyone.
The experiences of a grieving student can become a learning experience for the class as a whole because other students can look for ways to support the grieving student in addition to creating special sympathy cards.
In sum, experienced teachers already know that grieving students don't always have the ability to express feelings in words.
You already serve as a stabilizing and familiar influence to the child, however, as you encourage creative outlets for the confusing feelings of grief and also involve the support of other students as they learn about the issues of life and death.
Published by Dan Reveal
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17 Comments
Post a CommentWow, I'm impressed by this article because many of these tips can be used by everyday people, too; not just teachers, and in various circumstances! Last year one of the young boys in our neighborhood "lost" his brother, who left home to attend an out-of-state college. The youngster was devastated. I asked him how he was doing, and he admitted to me that he was crying himself to sleep at night. I was amazed how he opened up to me! This year, his mother was admitted to rehad for prescription drug abuse, word is she's going to divorce her husband later. And her husband's an alcoholic, which I never knew. I've got to use some of your tips to help their son! Thanks, Dan!
Well written!
Great article!
excellent writing :)
Very good Dan! Sometimes it is a students' peers that make all the difference in the world.
Excellent article as always. Thanks!
I agree with Han that telling an entire class is a touchy choice. However, as always, there is compassion behind your advice.
Great ideas
My husband lost his father to a horrific accident 55 years ago, and he suffered from the lack of social contact and help during that time -- the school, teachers, students and family offered no assistance. Thank goodness things have changed & teachers can be front & center in working with students now. It can make such a difference in the lives of grieving students, whatever the circumstances.
very helpful