Mental Health Day Please.

To be frank, I've had an awful week.  One of the worst weeks of my life.  All I'd like to do is to crawl into bed and stay there for a month.  I managed to get in some quality wallowing time in this weekend, but I had to switch back to reality for today for class.  Sitting in my creaky, narrow seat, I found it really hard to focus and feel present in class.  It occurred to me "What will I do when students in my class are struggling with personal issues?  Will I even know when they are facing challenges or feeling completely overwhelmed?"  As a graduate student with a good relationship with my professor, I'd feel comfortable approaching my professor to explain a personal situation that was having an impact on my performance.  I don't think many adolescents would.  As a teacher, how am I supposed to know if the student with their head down on the desk has no interest in Hamlet, a bad case of insomnia, or perhaps something serious going on at home?

While teachers need to cautious about the relationships they form with students,  it is important for students to have an avenue for communication with their teachers.  I think this is one area in which journaling could be used in the classroom.  In terms of journaling, I intend on starting every class off with a short writing prompt related to our lesson.  If there is something keeping them from focusing on their writing prompt, I'd like students to know that they should write about it.  This way students feel they can share information with me, and also still be on task in terms of writing in class.  Of course if any serious issue were raised, I would refer them to the school counselor (and let them know this would be my policy beforehand)  This could also be used as a starting point for conversations about struggling with workload or issues that are holding them back academically.  If nothing else, sometimes just having an opportunity to express what is on your mind allows you the freedom to let go of it and focus on the task at hand.  I'd like my students to know that this is always an option, and that as their teacher, I am always willing to listen to them.