How to get students to cope with the loss of a teacher

Just as you would feel like giving up in life when you lose a loved one is the same way students can get discouraged if they lose a beloved teacher. Students who are so attached to their teacher would feel more discouraged and out of place if they lose their teacher. You should be there for such students. Nobody chooses to lose a loved one. Do not make the student go through more pain than what they are already going through. But how can you do this? Here are some tips! 

1. Allow students to attend memorial services

This is very critical when it comes to getting students to cope with the loss. Basically, it is more of an assurance to the students that indeed the teacher is gone and that there is nothing they can do to have their teacher back. The first stage of healing is usually the acknowledgment that indeed the teacher is gone. Some students will actually never get out of the situation until they attend the funeral. It helps them to accept reality and get closure.

2. Be as understanding as possible

You may not be feeling the pain to the same level the students are feeling. However, it is not time to show yourself as strong about the issue. Let the students feel that you are also grieving with them. This makes them feel normal to be emotional about the situation. Once they feel like what they are going through is normal, they will find themselves healing naturally. There is nothing as impossible as forcing a healing process. It never works. 

3. Give students time to grieve when necessary

There are many ways you can help students to grieve in a way that will lead to their healing. You know the students you are dealing with. Therefore, do not force them to get back to the normal routine. Nothing can ever be normal if you lose a teacher. Therefore, you can look for what can work well for them. For instance, you can give them a chance to write ‘rest in peace' notes in honor of the teacher. As they do this, they will cope with the situation. Let those who want to sob go ahead. After all, it may not last for more than a month. 

4. Do not compare anybody with the lost teacher

Whether the teacher looked bad or not, you may not know the position he or she held in the hearts of their students. Well, it is good to give them hope in the future but not make them feel like you were waiting for the demise of the teacher in question. If you start comparing a dismissed teacher to the ones who left in a manner to suggest that they are left with better teachers than the lost, they will be mad at you and this will hinder their healing. Just make them understand that as good as the teacher was, there is nothing that could have been done to save their life. 

5. Show some love and care

This is the time students will need much care. You know at this point they are fighting with nature and to some extent God. They feel like nature is against them. Do not join nature against them. Show them more love and care so that they can know that no matter what has occurred, someone still values them and thinks about them. Do not be too hard on them. It will just add more wounds. 

The healing process for any loss is slow and a lot of factors will facilitate the process. It is important for the school administration to take cognizance of this and put the right structures in place to deal with grief. Unfortunately, since this is a rare occurrence, most schools are ill prepared when it happens.