Teacher’s Mental Health Check-In Board Goes Viral For The ‘Beautiful’ Standard It Sets


Teachers often come up with the best ideas and sometimes, it is beneficial for everyone to know about them. That is what happened when this teacher set up a board in her classroom. Students can express how they are feeling on the board at will.

Many of us grew up feeling that children should be seen and not heard but in school, we sometimes have the opportunity to voice our opinions. Yes, we were expected to behave and be quiet when the teacher is talking, but some teachers still appreciate what we have to say.

Perhaps it was those teachers that really had the greatest impact on us. They were often more in tune with our needs and knew if we were feeling fine or if we had some kind of issue going on in the background from day to day.

I’m sure that many of us felt that way, which is why Tara Mitchell Holman has inspired so many people with what she put up in her classroom.

There are six different categories on the board, including ‘I’m great’, ‘I’m okay’, ‘I’m meh’, ‘I’m struggling’, ‘I’m having a tough time and wouldn’t mind a check-in’, and ‘I’m not doing great’.

Holman has a weekly check-in day on Monday. Students write their name on the back of a sticky note put it on the board in the category they feel fits their current mental state most accurately.

The students then speak with the teacher one on one at some time on Monday to tell her why they feel like they do.

This is probably helping a lot of youngsters to be more comfortable with their emotions and to talk openly about the way they feel.

Far too many students are left on their own to deal with those difficult emotions. As those emotions continue to build up and fester inside of them, it could lead to long-term problems. Research has even proven that many young students are now dealing with mental health issues.

It is unclear if those health issues are more common today than they were in generations past. Some feel that children and teenagers are just better at expressing those concerns.

Others, however, feel that it has to do with information exposure, which is at a high level because of the Internet. We are constantly being exposed to others who are trying to live the ‘good life’ on Instagram and social media and it seems as if we are never able to keep up.

Since being posted, over 180,000 people have shared it. Both educators and parents are praising the idea and it is hoped that other teachers will be inspired to offer the same opportunity to their classroom.

There is a lot of research that talks about the benefits of doing something like this teacher has done. When students are treated as individuals with understanding, it works out for the best.


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