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@MorseCode206 @_Lee_H @kalleoakes @FunkFlashyRob
My reply is too long for one tweet. This is in response to”Mental Health.”I’m not sure what it should be called if you disagree with that term, but this is how I view it.I teach freshmen.I sit in meetings for at least 200 minutes
My reply is too long for one tweet. This is in response to”Mental Health.”I’m not sure what it should be called if you disagree with that term, but this is how I view it.I teach freshmen.I sit in meetings for at least 200 minutes
every week, most of the time with with five teachers,a guidance counselor, an assistant principal, and a program director. )In fact today and yesterday I had training in recognizing risks and teaching strategies to address those needs.)
We discuss students and everyday mental health is discussed. The first person we list as a resource is a coach, band or choir director,etc. as people they trust and who they will talk to.Those activities are almost always the anchor that keeps at risk kids in school and motivated
to help themselves. For students who most people would call “normal,” I cannot tell you how many tear filled conversations I have had with athletes who are reaching out to someone they trust. Drug use, homelessness, food insecurity, lack of clothing, parent depression, parents in
jail, post high school planning, and academic struggles are most common. I can tell you with 100% certainty that they are not mentally healthy. I get them to people who can help. At the very least sports gives them two hours everyday where they know they are loved and
unconditionally cared about. It is also two hours where they don’t have to think about the crap they have to deal with when they get home. My staff uses the words family and brotherhood and mean it. I have had athletes reach out to me for help years after they have graduated.
This is standard operating procedure for many coaches and programs. It seems to me that most people don’t understand what these programs actually do for many kids. I am not being dramatic or exaggerating in any way. That is a normal year for me as teacher and coach.
