How teachers can help a grieving student who lost a parent

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During the course of a teacher’s career, it is not unusual to have students who experience the loss of a parent. This is a painful and bitter experience for anyone. They need a lot of support from anybody close to them; teachers are an ideal candidate given the rapport students build with their teachers over time. Some teachers feel they do not have the right training to help a grieving student, but a teacher does not need to be an expert. Teachers can help a grieving student by serving as a source of stability and also being present for the student to express their grief. Here are some tips on how a teacher can help a grieving student: 

1. Comfort the student

A teacher should make sure that the student knows he or she is not alone in their grief. Teachers should grieve together with such a student and offer support, reassurance, comfort and empathy. It may be the first experience for the student to mourn the loss of a parent; so as a teacher, you should help them to cope with the situation and also encourage them to talk out what they feel. A teacher may also talk to the grieving student and give them a hug and make the student feel that he or she is not alone in this situation. 

2. Provide learning support

A grieving student will have difficulty concentrating and learning in class. Give such students extra support; you can also set time to talk to the student outside the class and encourage them. Talk to other teachers, friends, relatives and their close network to help to coordinate a support effort towards the student. Teachers should offer educational support in any form to grieving students. 

3. Talk to relatives for assistance

A grieving student’s relative should know how he or she is coping in school. Reach out to a relative to know how you can coordinate to help the student who has lost a parent. When you notice the student is feeling overwhelmed during class, allow them to step out of the class; you may even talk to them outside. It is essential to consult a relative of theirs to understand how you can support and what can be done to help the student deal with the loss. 

4. Be authentic and present

Being real to the student is essential because it will help a student to trust you and also feel free to express their feelings. A teacher should be present to encourage the student on the loss of their parent. It is also suitable for a teacher to express caring and concern to the grieving student that way and the student will feel they are not alone in the grieving of the parent. It is a painful and sad period for a grieving student so a teacher should be genuine and supportive to the student. 

A teacher should always give a word of encouragement and take initiative to help a grieving student who lost a parent because that is the most critical opportunity you have to can offer at this time. With the tips above a teacher can help a grieving student. Please contact us and share your experiences as a teacher if you ever had one. 

How skipping class affects educational achievement

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Absenteeism in class is a very common behavior among students. Missing one day from school sets in motion a disruption whose chain effects may eventually affect a student’s academic performance. It starts with a student missing one or two classes, then it adds up to missing a day or two, finally it becomes a habit which is very addictive. This is not a big deal to most students today. Experts say chronic absenteeism may start from as early as kindergarten and no matter the reason, it always has a negative outcome in a student’s educational performance. When making a comparison, students who are not always in school have a rare chance of performing and thriving in their academics. Whereas those who do not skip classes have greater chances of performing better and are deemed to become potentially successful people later in life. 

Research indicates that with just from only five misses in school, tremendous negative change begins to show in the student’s performance. Studies have also shown that those who miss more classes are likely to have lower chances to graduate as compared to those who attend school frequently. Most of these students assume that missing school for only a few days does not have a direct impact on their academics, which is very wrong. For most of them, their parents are not aware about their absenteeism or other parents don’t even care about it. What these youngsters don’t understand is that skipping school for even the shortest time possible can have a high negative impact on both your grades and the possibility of you ever graduating. 

Parents and teachers are the most important tool for fighting this addictive behavior. These are some tips they can implement to overcome cases of their kids missing out on an important milestone in their life.

1) Advocate for open communications. Parent and teachers should be open to the kids to create a platform where these kids are free to air out their troubles.

2) Involvement in the child’s life. A parent should attend school functions, follow up on an assignment and check their kid’s progress reports frequently. This helps the kid to feel that the parent is part and parcel of their academic journey.

3) Create awareness on the importance of education. We all know the factoid “what you don’t know will not affect you”; when a child understands the importance of being in school they will willingly put more effort for their own good.

4) Let the child feel that whatever is taught in school is part of real life. Most children miss school because they assume what is in class doesn’t connect to real life. For instance, how does learning integers help you sell cookies in a bakery?

5) Let your kids understand that there will be consequences for their absenteeism. Parents should come up with consequences for their kids if they miss class. The kids should understand that you do not accept or tolerate search behaviors.

6) The parent should also emphasize this often to make sure the kids don’t forget. This may be done through frequent talks with them. One can even write a warning signpost for them and stick it in a place that can be easily seen. 

Finally; as custodians of education, we should be able to understand that every element is key in a child’s success. Missing classes is a sign of trouble or a troubled kid. Once this is noticed, it should be handled immediately and carefully. For others, it may just be for their own pleasure while for others it may be due to very serious circumstances affecting them. Teachers too should be able to deal with such cases diligently. Whatever the problem is, try to sit down with the kid so as to talk it through and find a solution. Dealing with it at an early stage may, in fact, save you from more stress. It’s up to everyone to understand that they are all custodians of education and should take part in the process. 

How divorce affects children’s academic performance

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Studies have shown that separation and divorce have a high correlation with academic achievement of kids. On average, children from broken homes experience a drop in academic performance especially during the first years of separation.

All parents wish their children the best; they desire to see their young ones pursue higher education and get good-paying jobs in future. This is not always the case for children from divorced families.

Divorce has a negative impact on the life of a child, from a decline in educational performance to very difficult adult relations even with their partners later in life. The effects of divorce on children’s wellbeing are limitless; for example when children are assisted to do their homework by their parents, it helps to boost their self-esteem and improve their grades. Let’s go over how these effects in detail and how the impact a child’s performance.

How divorce affects children’s academic performance

1. Emotionally distracted

Divorce can create emotional distress in children. This makes children develop some behavioral problems and start to be less focused in life; they start to look at life from a different angle, mostly from a negative perspective. When kids are in emotional distress, it becomes difficult for them to concentrate on class work. It is therefore important to seek the services of a tutor to help such kids to focus on their education. 

2. It lowers educational aspirations 

Whenever there is a divorce, children are the ones who suffer most; it is the last thing that any child would wish to happen. Divorce is tough on children; this goes further to affect their educational outcomes and aspirations. During a divorce, children are forced to move from one place to another, hear unseemly things from their parents and forced to take sides. This has a negative long term effect on their education performance.

3. Lower grade point average

Research shows that divorce makes children have a lower grade point average than those from married parents. This can be attributed to more to the difficult times children from divorced families are facing. 

4. Comprehension suffers

 Divorce can severely affect the mind of a child. When divorce occurs, children are left in the most difficult and challenging situations that make them feel sad, lost, depressed and even confused. Diffident studies have confirmed this; it has been found that children from divorced families are likely to suffer from hyperactivity disorder and ADD than those from nuclear families. Divorce lowers their ability to easily read and comprehend in class. 

5. Less likely to attend higher education 

Children from divorced families tend to fail to continue their education past high school. Several factors contribute to this; one of the common causes for this is the lack of finances to cater for college or university education. 

6. Behavioral issues

Lack of tender care and affection that children from divorced families face makes them behave weirdly in schools. Divorce causes emotional turmoil in children. This further makes them to start skipping school and acting poorly. Without discipline, it makes it hard for teachers to effectively manage their classrooms.

Although divorce is inevitable for valid reasons, the effects on the educational performance of children in school is severe. Parents should do their very best to create a conducive environment for the development of their kids, both academically and socially. This however does not mean that parents should continue to live in abusive relationships that could also lead to the same consequences. 

Common Injuries School Children Have and How to Prevent Them

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Do you know that at least 500 primary school kids get twists and slight injuries every year? That is a huge number and as a school teacher who spends much time with the kids, you need to take precautionary measures and avoid injuries at school. Most of the injuries are not severe and include slight bruises and knocks. Nevertheless, a severe injury might happen and it is something you don’t want to happen in your facility. In this article, we describe some of the common injuries and how you should prevent them. 

1. Ankle Injuries 

Twisted ankles and sprains present some of the most common injuries in school going children. You have been on the receiving end of these injuries in your school days, right? You know how easy it is to get an ankle sprain. Simple physical activities such as running on an uneven surface could cause ankle sprain. Hilly spots and playground equipment can also cause ankle twits and sprains. To prevent this, you need to make sure that playgrounds are flat and smooth. Flatten all the hills and remove anything that may make the playground uneven. 

2. Knee Injuries 

Since time immemorial, knees have been the most common sites of playground bruises and scrapes. Sliding on the ground, shoving, and falling causes some pretty painful injuries, some of which range from severe problems and bleeding that may require immediate doctor’s attention. Some of the most sensitive parts of the knee, such as ligaments, cartilage and tendons are likely to be strained or torn during sporting activities. The best prevention strategy is ensuring that kids warm up before participating in sports. You can also warn the kids not to slide on bumpy playgrounds. 

3. Head Injuries 

Head injuries are severe and should always be treated with the seriousness they deserve. A slight elbow on the head in a basketball match could cause concussions and brain injuries. School children are likely to collide head-on, especially is fierce class matches. Sometimes a child might knock his head by running into a flag pole. Most children are not aware that head injuries are critical, and they don’t care. As a teacher, you should always be prepared to handle a severe head injury through emergencies and school ambulances. You can also make it clear why children should take caution and avoid even slight head injuries. 

4. Wrist Injuries 

If school children fall on the playground, their most instinct is to reach out and brace themselves with their hands. Psychologists highlight that humans use their hands to brace as an intuitive method of preventing head injuries. However, although hands play a vital role in preventing injuries to critical parts of the bodies, they experience massive injuries as well. Wrists become sore, twisted, and may break. As a teacher, you should caution the school children against running aimlessly around the school compound to avoid wrist injuries. 

As a teacher, you have to understand that school children don’t understand anything about safety. Most of them don’t know how they can avoid injuries. Therefore, you have to keep close attention to the children so that you can respond swiftly in case of injuries.