Mental Health Mondays
Transitioning Back To In-Person Learning – Part 2
by Jennifer Reid, MA
Early School Director/In-School Therapeutic Services Coordinator
Lucy Daniels Center
This week we continue our exploration of the topic of children returning to in-person school. One question on teachers’ minds is how they will support their in-person and remote students equally and simultaneously. For parents of either group, talking with your child or children about why some students’ families have opted for one over the other might be a helpful discussion to have, even if your child hasn’t brought it up to you. Children often think about and question why, but don’t always feel comfortable or know how to bring their questions up.
One of our Lucy Daniels School teachers adds to this discussion, “It is important for adults to keep in mind that everything all of us have experienced over the last year has been new or different. Attending school now will be different than any experience that children have had in a school before. Returning to the building may look and feel different than the children have been imagining it. Some of their friends will be there and some of them may still be at home. And those who are together on-site will have to follow new rules and keep their distance in a new kind of way. Each child will express their emotions in their own way, and we understand that there will be a lot on their minds.”
One of our clinicians comments on the social anxiety that some children may have. “I think kids are worried about having social connections and how they will fit in, will they fit in, and who can they hang out with since they have not needed to be as connected. They also don’t have a full classroom in which to find their friends. What if their closest friend continues as a remote student? They will need help understanding and processing this.”
Do you have a specific question about your child’s transition back to in-person school?
