"Just Breathe" - Raising Awareness for Mental Health
- Feb 2, 2016
- 2 min read
"Just Breathe" by Julie Bayer Salzman & Josh Salzman (Wavecrest Films) (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVA2N6tX2cg
This is a video that was shared during a professional development day that we all attended. The session was hosted by the Education Student Council on January 14, 2016. The topic was raising awareness for mental health and discussing how to create an inclusive classroom that supports all students.
In this video I loved the analogy the little girl gives about the jar filled with water and glitter. When we get upset the glitter gets shaken and the particles rapidly swirl around. That is the moment when we are most upset, but as we calm ourselves, the glitter slowly settles back to the bottom of the jar. After attending this professional development session, I started thinking about how I would create a classroom environment that provides a safe and supportive community for all students.
From my experience, having a special place set aside for students who need to remove themselves from what is going on in the classroom is beneficial. In practicum last year, my cooperating teachers had a bean bag chair in one corner of the classroom that students could go sit in when they needed a quiet place to calm down. The chair had arms that could be wrapped around the person sitting in it, which was almost like a hug. This was available to all students to use, but was placed in the classroom for one student with autism.
On one particular day, a student was very upset coming in from recess. She was unable to tell anyone why she was so upset. It was at this time that another little girl, the one who has autism, took the hand of the upset child. She led her to the bean bad chair and wrap the chair's arms around the girl. This child hugged the chair arms and slowly began to calm herself. After a little while, she was able to share with us what had happened.
This was such an unexpected surprise! It was very special to see how this girl with autism was able to help her friend calm down by showing her what she does when she is upet. As Henry ford once said, "coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success" (http://www.relatably.com/q/inclusive-teaching-quotes).
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