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Case: Emotional Breakdowns I have a second grade student who has had many behavior problems in the past. He was recently put on medication that has helped tremendously.Unfortunately, he is now very emotional. At some point each day he becomes very sad. He weeps uncontrollably and says he misses his dad (who is no longer in the picture). The episodes can last over an hour and he is missing a lot. How should I approach this situation? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) We have a lot of these cases in our school, especially since I am teaching elementary students. What I do to help my students cope with these situations is called a "restorative" circle. A restorative circle consists of gathering every person or party involved including the mom, the dad(if possible), the counselor, the student, and the teacher who would act as the speaker and mediator. Everyone would literally create a circle facing each other and discuss their experience relating to the issue and how they feel about the situation. The teacher or mediator designee leads the discussion and poses the questions for each participant to respond to. There needs to be a talking piece such as a pen, ball, or anything tangible item to ensure talking turns are being taken. These circles can become very emotional and deep, so make sure you set expectations and keep the environment calm. The purpose of the restorative circle is restore the harm done to a person. There are books and research to support the practice and it does work for me most of the time. |
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