Ways to Help A Student Having A Hard Time

There is no better time to let our students know we care then around Valentine’s Day.

Sometimes holiday’s can be hard for some of our students, for many reasons.

I always like celebrating as much as I can with students to show them how valued they are and that they have someone on their team.

This makes it so much easier to help those students who are having a hard time. If we build the foundation of trust with our students, they will hopefully be more responsive when we reach out to them.

Here is an activity that I like to do with my students on or around Valentine’s Day:

Saint Valentin Activity

When I notice one of my students having a problem (understanding content, behavior, emotions, etc.) or notice an extreme drop in grade, attention, just not themselves, etc. I like to reach out to them one on one.

Here is what I do when reaching out to a student:

I like to talk to them first and see what is going on. Do this privately. Before or after class, pull them in the hallway, but do not do this in front of others, including other teachers. Make this conversation strictly between you and the student.

Once you have addressed the issue, then you can come up with solutions.

Possible solutions could be to create signals for the two of you that means they need help without others knowing. Doing post-it check-ins with all students at their desk. Just remember whatever you decide to do that only you and the student you are working with knows it is for them only.

However, if  you do all of this and the problem continues, then it is time to reach out to the parents or guardians.

If you reach out to their parents/guardians and issues are still occurring then it is time to to contact their counselor, assistant principal or coach. I have come to find reaching out to a student’s sports coach does wonders! They never want to disappoint them, coaches really hold their players accountable and the students always want to be able to play their sports games.

What techniques do you use to help students having a hard time?

As always, I hope that you have found this information useful and helpful to you!

Merci,

Amanda