Schools Have More Severely Disturbed Students– What ‘s A Teacher To Do?
Teachers and Counselors: Does it seem to you that you are seeing more and more seriously emotionally disturbed kids than ever before? The problem may not be with your perceptions. The problem may be that in fact, you are seeing more disturbed children and youth than at any time before.
This article covers some of the updated mental health information we give out in our popular Problem-Kid Problem-Solver Workshop. It’s data that all teachers and counselors can use.
There are a few explanations for what you may already have noticed. First, many settings such as schools and Job Corps, are accepting youth with increasingly serious emotional problems. Second, mainstreaming has shifted many kids from sheltered or specialized settings, into mainstream classrooms, sports teams and scouting troops. Third, and perhaps most important, there may be, in fact, more and earlier serious emotional disturbances developing in children. Or, perhaps we are just getting better at identifying these problems.
Late last year, you may have read in your local newspaper a summary of the US...