May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I almost didn’t start writing this post because I don’t know what to say or recommend. While these ideas from a previous post still stand, none of them can combat the serious issues teachers and students (and families) especially are facing after over two years of intense challenges and tragedy. So many families are struggling with grief, teacher stress and burnout is rampant, and new guidelines recommend that all children 8 and older should be screened for anxiety due to pandemic effects.

None of my suggestions or ideas can “fix” this situation. So many factors are outside of our control, but what you can try to do is take care of yourself as much as possible. If that means taking a break from teaching or looking at a new school or new role, so be it. During the worst part of the pandemic for me, I found taking short walks outside could help me get through the day, but a lot of the issues affecting schools and teachers are structural and cannot be improved by taking walks, deep breaths, journaling, or something similar. As teachers, we are wired to frequently feel guilty about not doing enough for our students, but you cannot care for your students if you are not in a good situation. This probably means many teachers will leave this year. I personally have been thinking a lot about teaching private school versus public school and how the pandemic intensified the inequities in such a stark way. 

What we can do with students is talk about mental health and give them the space and vocabulary to share their feelings. As an adult, I feel stigma related to mental health challenges and the pressure to be positive even in very challenging situations. We can try to help our students avoid this same fate in the future by emphasizing that mental health is part of our overall health, asking for help is brave and vital, and giving students processes and words to try to express themselves. In the past, we had a lot of success with creating writing process maps with students and found that students who had self described anxiety or frustration around writing benefited. I also try to remind my students of resources for when we are feeling down or want to talk to someone. I know many schools don’t have resources for students other than teachers or family members, but if you are lucky enough to work at a school with a counselor or social worker, try to normalize asking them for help in a variety of situations.

I’ve witnessed really productive discussions by students about mental health and specifically how therapy helps them, mainly as a result of reading books with characters who see a therapist. Two that have really worked for my students are the Alvin Ho series by Lenore Look and Guts by Raina Telgemeier (all books listed are pictured above). Another one that I think would resonate with many students right now is Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh. I only recently read it and haven’t had the opportunity to share it with students yet. I could go on as there are so many books that might help students find words or parallels to share their feelings, but as every situation is different, so is each book. You can find more books that helped us in this regard in this previous post (also shared above). I’ve heard arguments that books about mental health difficulties are too “heavy” for children, but in my experience I’ve found students are more than capable of figuring out what books work for them and respond really well to books that they can genuinely relate to and might not always have a happy or neatly tied up ending.

For me, as much as teaching is challenging and at times during the past two years felt almost impossible (for example, teaching in person and on Zoom simultaneously before we had access to vaccinations), I did ultimately feel uplifted by the children. They can be so kind and so funny and sometimes that is enough to get you through the day. The back and forth nature of the year and responding to COVID scares meant that we were so excited to see each other when we could, and when we couldn’t, they were excited to see my baby over Zoom or show me their snacks, pets, toys, or other glimpses into their lives. 

Whatever your plans are for next year, you are so close to summer! Hang in there and I hope you can have some funny and joyful moments with your students in the next few weeks.

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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Happy May! Teachers (and students!), you are so close to the end of the school year.

Before the school year ends, it is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! This year, more than ever, it is important to uplift and share AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) voices as we are facing a huge increase in hate crimes and anti-Asian sentiment. The Library of Congress hosts this site with lots of teacher resources, both historical and current. Another helpful resource is Standing Together from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center which addresses the need to stand together against rising racism, hate, and violence. This site also provides facts and resources.

Newsela has a lot of articles and text sets that would work for AAPI Heritage Month depending on what you want to focus on. Also, make sure you look at a map! It’s always helpful to talk about what “Asian” actually means, learn about the different regions in Asia, and think about population, religion, languages, food (my personal favorite) and more. I often find students are confused about terminology and appreciate the clarification. For example, I share how I identify (American, Asian American, Indian American, South Asian American, etc.) and how these terms all work for me and they are just more or less specific. We look at different maps to make sure we understand exactly what these terms mean, and I explain my preferences and emphasize that how I chose to identify is unique to me, and you should always ask or let people share with you before you assume. 

Last year,  Gabby shared this post with some book suggestions for everyone from babies to adults. Here are a few more (new-ish) books that I couldn’t resist sharing that would work for so many purposes. There are so many wonderful books out there, but I challenge you to make sure your AAPI protagonists aren’t all immigrants or focusing on their immigration experience. 

Picture books:

Bilal Cooks Dal (cover photo) by Aisha Saeed and Anoosha Syed (illustrator): this one isn’t that new (from 2019), but it is such a wonderful book on multiple levels! First of all, it is very important that everyone knows about dal, it’s eaten by over a billion people and is delicious and so versatile. Also, I love this relatable story about a child who wants to share his favorite food with his friends (and is confused that they don’t already know about it and later scared that they might not like it). And there is a recipe at the back of the book! 

What I Am by Divya Srinivasan is a thoughtful and colorful response from a young girl to someone asking her “What are you?” Those of us who’ve gotten that question before and those of us who might have asked someone that question (and just all of us) could benefit from reading about her answers. This would be a great book to start a discussion or exploration about the complex facets of identify and how we can all adapt and change in varied settings.

Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Yas Imamura (illustrator). This new release is on my “to read” list. It’s based on a true story about love blooming in the library at the Minidoka prison camp during World War II (where Americans of Japanese descent where incarcerated). 

Drawn Together: also not that new, but such a gorgeous book! I’ve been waiting to read this book for Grandparents and Special Friends Day at our school for years now, but it keeps being canceled due to the pandemic. But you can use this book in so many ways, the theme of togetherness is not limited to language barriers and students really relate to the drawings and the idea of using your imagination. 

Middle Grade/Young Adult:

Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh: while there is so much to admire in this book, I loved the element of students fighting back against racism with actions and organization. Parts of the story are dark (mental health struggles, the protagonist learns about her grandparents’ experiences during the Korean War), but it fits with the current times in an honest, realistic, but still hopeful way. Also, it tells an immigration story, but is really a story about someone who is a third generation American, but not always perceived that way, which is an important distinction to share with students.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo: set in 1950’s San Francisco, I learned so much from reading this! And couldn't put it down. While this is historical fiction, the injustices in the book really happened. Chinatown is a legacy of days when Chinese and Chinese-American people were not welcome in any other neighborhoods. The “Red Scare” and the discrimination and intimidation that went along with it did involve threats of deportation and taking away citizenship. This is all the backdrop to Lily, the main character, coming of age, grappling with her identities and opposing loyalties, and discovering lesbian culture in San Franciso

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha: this is a fun memoir graphic novel that I read in one day. It is an immigration story, also touches on gender norms and expectations in different cultures. 

Adult:

The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh: I read this book as an eARC from NetGalley and LOVED it. From my review: There is an amazing cast of characters and we hear from all of them. The shifting narrative is really well done as each character has their own voice which is impressive as there are so many characters. Also, so many funny/relatable moments. I'm not Vietnamese-American, but as the child of immigrants, so many details rang true for me. And I loved all the descriptions of food. There was nothing predictable about this story, but so many things to enjoy: a curse, fortune tellers, lots of family and relationship drama, and other surprises I won't mention because of spoilers. Some of the family reunion scenes made me laugh out loud. 

The Verifiers: this is on my “to read” list and has so many things going for it: identity, family expectations, detective agency, potential romance, and a technology twist with a Chinese-American queer protagonist.

Happy Reading and almost summer!

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April is National Poetry Month

Happy April or National Poetry Month! Poetry is something to infuse into your classroom (and life) everyday, but if you don’t have time to teach a standalone poetry unit, you can use it as a morning greeting, introduction to a topic or subject, or a way to share information. There are so many different types of poems. We don’t have a poetry unit as part of our 3rd grade curriculum, but we make sure to have plenty of poetry books in our classroom. I’ve learned that students who read one novel in verse often want to try others, so I always include them on my “teacher recommendations” shelf. Novels in verse also make wonderful read alouds, too. They sound beautiful when read aloud and are relatively quick reads.

Here are some ideas for teaching poetry that we shared in 2019. Many of these could be standalone lessons or part of a larger poetry unit.

In the past, Gabby read This is a Poem That Heals Fish by Jean-Pierre Siméon (translated from French) to our 3rd graders and asked them to write their own poem starting with, “A poem is..” as many characters in the book do. She played music while they were writing, and when the music stopped, students rotated to a different desk and continued that poem. The results were lovely, hilarious, and sometimes surprisingly dark (see the cover photo for an example). It was a fun activity that would work for an introduction to a poetry unit, National Poetry Month, and building collaboration or thinking about different writing voices. You can read more about the book and see some of the beautiful illustrations here.

Here are some other new (ish) books for National Poetry Month:

Kiyoshi's Walk by Mark Karlins is another beautiful resource for introducing poetry or thinking about where to find writing inspiration. A child asks his grandfather where poems come from, and his grandfather helps him find out by taking him on a walk around the city!

Unsettled by Reem Faruqi (yes, I can’t stop recommending books by Reem Faruqi!) is a must for the classroom. Nurah moves to Georgia, USA with her family from Pakistan and the novel follows the ups and downs of their big move. Nurah loves her family, swimming, and art. She’s thoughtful, determined, and brave, an excellent MC. Through her eyes we see the ups and downs of other characters’ lives too from colorism/xenophobia/racism, relationship physical abuse/ bullying, miscarriages, and mental health( depression, Alzheimer’s). All of these pieces are included in a way that felt both real enough, but still light enough for middle grade— which is a true feat in itself. (I’m quoting from Gabby’s Goodreads review as this book is still on my “to read” list!).

My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness by Georgia Heard is another book on my “to read” list, but it looks beautiful and very helpful for everything we are all managing in the classroom right now! 

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know by Brittany Luby and illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley is a bilingual Anishinaabemowin and English book showing how a young girl and her grandmother know when a new season is starting. This book is also on my “to read” list, but seems like it has potential to be a wonderful mentor text. The author is of  Anishinaabe descent and the illustrator is of Ojibwe descent.

Samira Surfs by Rukhsanna Guidroz is another middle grade novel in verse on my “to read” list. Samira is a twelve-year-old girl who is a Rohingya refugee. She and her family had to flee their home and are now living in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Samira starts learning to surf, but has to overcome many obstacles to do so. The book includes an author’s note explaining the situation in Myanmar. I want to read it myself as it sounds like it has so much potential for a read aloud and something to recommend to my students. 

The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics by Susan Hood is yet another book I still want to read, but the excerpts I’ve seen include lovely nonfiction poems about kid activists fighting to protect the environment. Plus, the book includes a timeline, author’s note, further resources, and more to encourage students to keep learning. Seems like a great book for Earth Day or everyday.

Happy reading and writing!

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