Heather Smith reflects on the recent Canadian Forum on Public Education, her 33-year career as a teacher and how we can best support the mental health and wellness of students and teachers.
This article, originally published in The Alberta Teachers’ Association “ATA News”, examines the federal Liberal election platform and outlines the new government’s stand on some of the issues that matter to teachers.
Teachers are usually the first to know. A hungry child that can’t focus on their lesson plan. A student struggling with depression, falling through the cracks in our mental health care system. Teachers know that poverty and mental illness are powerful forces in Canadian life because they see their effects in the classroom every day.
Child poverty and child and youth mental health were noted as the two top priorities for teacher advocacy in the upcoming federal election by over 5,000 teachers in a CTF survey. How can teachers engage in a dialogue with federal election candidates on these issues?
In this coming federal election and beyond, teachers can give voice to their students’ needs through the CTF campaign "Hear My Voice ". Many of the issues that affect teaching and learning in schools are connected to federal jurisdiction. Teachers can raise their voices for child and youth mental health and child poverty.
Too often, teachers are left to their own device on how to help children with a wide range of learning disabilities and mental health issues. Ron Muller, member of CTF’s Advisory Committee on Diversity and Human Rights, describes his own experience in starting “courageous” conversations with his students in the classroom about mental health.
