Student Mental Health Questions for Teachers: What Am I Missing?
When a student puts their head down, the question you ask next matters. Therapist and former high school teacher Charle Peck shares the one question to ask instead of "What's wrong with you?" and simple ways to support student mental health without becoming a therapist.
Charle spent years teaching high school before becoming a clinical therapist, and she is the co-author of The Language of Behavior and Improving School Mental Health. On this Fab Idea Friday, she explains why your own well-being is part of the job, not one more thing on your to-do list, and why noticing is the first skill every teacher needs.
She demonstrates a rapid reset, a 10- to 30-second activity that resets your energy and the whole room's. She also explains why she runs a reset with the whole class instead of singling out the one student who is struggling. And she shares a point every principal needs to hear: teachers won't refer a student unless they trust the referral system will help.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- The one question to ask a struggling student: "What am I missing?"
- What a rapid reset is and how to use one with the whole class
- Why noticing your own patterns comes before helping students
- What to do when a student puts their head down
- Why a referral system teachers trust matters for student mental health
Full show notes, resources, and the complete transcript: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e995
If this episode gave you an idea, share it with a teacher who could use it this week.
