By Jessica Grose, The New York Times, October 20, 2021
I have heard from many readers and friends that their kids are struggling to adjust to in-person schooling this year. For the little ones, there’s more separation anxiety, which means more tears at drop-off, and struggles to even get out the door. For older children and teens, I’m hearing that some previously motivated kids are less engaged. Perhaps they fell behind during remote learning and feel discouraged now that they’re back in the classroom. Others have anxiety about the virus and may still be reeling from grief if they’ve lost family members.
Many of them are wearing masks and, in a lot of communities, mask mandates are leading to heated school board meetings and a sense of general tension. As The Atlantic pointed out,a staggering number of children — at least 140,000 — have lost a parent or caregiver to Covid-19. And a meta-analysis of 29 studies looking at mental health among kids and teens around the world during the pandemic found: “The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 have doubled, compared with prepandemic estimates.” On Tuesday, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared the state of mental health for children and adolescents to be a “national emergency.”
I have been collecting anecdotes from stressed-out parents, but I wanted to hear from teachers around the United States, too — about what emotional changes they had observed in their classrooms. While much has been made about pandemic learning loss, social and emotional wellness is also a key part of school that feels under-discussed.
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