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Some of my students' issue, they've
expressed that they've had loss, loss of a family member,
loss of a friend, and loss of a parent.
Sometimes, our staff may not be equipped
with the tool set to work with our students
when those things happen.
More often, with the more than the parents are, so
in front line defense, we've got to have it,
we've got to have those basic emotional needs met
before they can learn them.
I think the biggest misconception about grief
is that kids are resilient.
Mommy may have died when they were five,
kid's probably nine or 10 now.
Mother's Day comes around.
Every year, it gets harder because they're grown up,
they get to actually see what mommies are supposed to do,
they get to hear their friends talk about mommy
and how mommy did this.
And so it changes over time.
They look at their mother as a figure
who should have been there and not someone who was gone.
The natural tendency for a lot of educators
is to say nothing because they're afraid they're
going to say the wrong thing.
And we want them to recognize that saying nothing
is precisely the wrong thing to say.
That's why it's so important to get things
like we did today with a professional development
to learn about what are new strategies, what
are new resources, and what can we
continue to do and add to what we've always
done so that we're supporting our students like they need to.
So you really want to make sure that everyone in your school
is prepared to support kids.
I think it's important for everyone in the school system,
down from the janitor to the principal, because the janitor,
they're the eyes and the ears.
So they'll hear everything before it's
someone in the building.
They'll hear it all because students talk around them.
That's all our responsibilities to deal
with the crisis and the trauma and the grief for our students.
And we all have to be open to what does my part look like
and what can I do with that.
Today's information was huge.
It was great resources, great information for us to hear.
Very, very helpful for us to take that,
share with our staff, and provide
some additional resources and strategies.
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