As reported by Sarah Schwartz in her piece, “Students in Distress Strain Teachers’ Skills,” Education Week surveyed teachers regarding the importance of and their ability to teach social-emotional skills—build strong relationships, make smart decisions, manage emotions, and take on challenges—amid the growing number of socially needy children in their care across all grades, even kindergarten.

Among the teacher findings:

  • 43% said it’s hard for them “to find ways to help students who appear to be struggling with problems outside of school;”
  • 23% said “finding ways to help students who appear to be experiencing emotional or psychological distress” is their most challenging task;
  • Less than 40% said they’d been trained in conflict de-escalation;
  • Less than 40% said they’d been trained in child trauma;
  • Just 29% had received mental health training;
  • Just 46% said they “somewhat” or “completely agreed” that their school had adequate support services from counselors, school psychologists, or other professionals to assist students experiencing emotional or psychological distress.

That leaves some 54% of teachers out there without much-needed resources. That, coupled with the overwhelming numbers who feel under-trained and unprepared to successfully watch over their many troubled students, should sound alarm bells.

Meanwhile, at least 15 states allow teachers to carry a concealed weapon of some sort, and on July 20, more than 200 firearm instructors nationwide trained teachers how to shoot a gun and handle a weapon.

Bottom line: Something is terribly wrong, and It should spark a serious look at what’s causing so many of our children to be so troubled in these so-called progressive days…

With my many thanks… ~ Carol (schoolwisebooks.com)