Teachers Get Mental Health Training, Help Students

Teachers Get Mental Health Training, Help Students

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis¹ facing American children. That is now happening in the form of increased depression, anxiety, eating disorders², fights, and thoughts of suicide³.

Last December, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy spoke⁴ about "the urgent need to address the nation's youth mental health crisis."

He said that in early 2021, emergency room visits in the U.S. for suspected suicide attempts were 51 percent higher for teenage girls and 4 percent higher for teenage boys compared to the same period in 2019.

Sharon Hoover is a professor and co-director of the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland. She said child abuse and neglect increased during the pandemic.

Students who lacked technology or good internet connections were isolated⁵ more than others. They fell behind in their studies and socially. And returning to school increased the anxiety of some children.

"We cannot (can't) assume that ‘OK we're back in school, it's been a few months and now everyone should be back to normal.' That is not the case," said Hoover.

The silver lining⁶ -- which means a good thing to come from a bad situation -- is special mental health training for teachers.

This training helps teachers learn warning signs of mental health risks and substance abuse in children, and how to prevent a tragedy. The program is run by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and is available in every state in the U.S.

One California teacher

One teacher taking the training is Benito Luna-Herrera. He teaches seventh-grade social studies in a high-poverty area of the Mojave Desert, a two-hour drive from Los Angeles, California.

Just two weeks after the training, he saw a student arguing online with her then-boyfriend.

"I asked her if she was OK," he said. Little by little, the girl told Luna-Herrera about problems with friends, her boyfriend, and at home. She said she felt alone. The 12-year-old told Luna-Herrera she had considered hurting herself.

The training taught him how to handle such a crisis: Raise the alarm. Get expert help. Do not leave a person thinking about suicide alone.

As Luna-Herrera continued talking to the girl, he texted school officials. They called an emergency number sending police to the girl's home. The police spoke with her mother, who was surprised about her daughter's suicidal thoughts.

Katherine Aguirre who leads the Mojave Unified⁸ school system said, "He absolutely saved that child's life."

Steps in the training

The training helps teachers recognize the difference between normal ways of dealing⁹ with pressure and warning signs of serious mental suffering. Those warning signs can be clear, or they can be hidden.

For example, warning signs include talking about death or suicide. But saying, "I can't do this anymore," or "I'm tired of this," could be warnings, too.

Changes in behavior could be cause for concern. For example, a teacher might be concerned if a child:

stops an activity they loved without replacing it with another

is usually tidy but starts looking untidy

has falling grades or stops completing assignments

eats lunch alone every day

stops spending time with friends

After seeing that something might be wrong, the training teaches the next steps: Ask the student about their situation without pressure or judgment¹⁰; let them know you care; let them know you want to help.

The training tells adults to ask open-ended questions. These questions need more than simple yes or no answers. The goal is to keep the child talking.

The adults are advised to see the importance of the problem and avoid saying, "You'll be fine," or "It's not that bad." They are also advised to not put themselves into a child's problems with comments such as, "I went through that, too."

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.

Words in This Story

anxiety – n. a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent¹¹ event or something with an uncertain outcome¹².

address – v. to deal with : give attention to

teenage (teenaged) – adj. a young person aged⁷ 12 - 19

isolated – adj. occurring alone or once

assume – v. to accept as true

grade – n. a division of a school course representing a year's work

alarm – v. to give warning to : – n. a warning notice

tidy – adj. neat and orderly in appearance or habits; well ordered and cared for

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

7 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

8 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

11 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

12 outcome   

n.结果，出口，演变

参考例句：

• The outcome of the experiment is in the lap of the gods.实验结果尚难预料。
• The outcome of the war is hard to foretell.战争胜负难以预卜。