Courtesy United Way of Utah County

You need a degree to be a teacher. You take classes and you do practicums so you can be as prepared as possible for when you walk into a classroom of your own.

But there are some things even teachers can’t learn in school.

In today’s classrooms, so many kids are struggling. Their families might be torn apart because of death, divorce or incarceration, or they might have anxiety or depression and not know how to address it, much less talk to other people about it.

It is during these times, when both kids and parents are going through so many struggles and challenges, that teachers must embrace their role as a child’s trusted adult and a supporter of individuals who are struggling.

As a teacher, my first objective is to make sure that my classroom is safe. But I’m not talking about school shootings and violence. I’m talking about making sure that my classroom is an emotionally safe place. How can you do that? Here are three recommendations.

Courtesy United Way of Utah County

1. Create an environment where your classroom is a place where no one is going to laugh at them or think they’re weird.

I think often of a little boy who stood up in my classroom and said he had something he wanted to show everyone. The whole class watched as he stood and belted out a country song in front of everybody. At the end of the song, the whole class erupted in applause.

The fact that he felt so safe he could sing and not have anyone laugh was heartwarming.

It wasn’t until I spoke with the student’s mother that I learned the real importance of this moment. The mother shared how that specific song was the student’s grandfather’s favorite song, and he sang it to his grandson before he passed away. I had no clue. You never know just how special these little opportunities to share will be.

2. Create opportunities for students to open up to each other so you can listen and learn.

Many times it’s easier for young kids to open up to their peers than to an adult. If teachers create these opportunities for kids to share what’s going on in their lives, teachers can walk around, listen and become aware of the needs in students’ lives. Sometimes you’ll learn that a kid won’t have food at home, or sometimes you’ll learn that a child feels lonely and sad because they aren’t feeling a real connection with a parent.

When I overhear these situations, I in turn can pull aside those students who need help and we can talk about the situation and make a plan for it.

3. Create opportunities for peer support so students feel connected.

Even more powerful than the support teachers can provide is the simple caring compassion student peers show one another. Kids are willing to share when they feel safe and know they have someone there who will listen. But kids are also willing to be the ones listening. Kids are so compassionate toward those who might be less fortunate or who are struggling. They pick up on their peers’ feelings and they’re willing to help. If our kids can do this, then shouldn’t we be able to follow their example?

When I walk into my classroom, I see my students, and I know their struggles and I know what they’re fighting for. They’re fighting to be happy, to be successful and to thrive.

Kids are so compassionate toward those who might be less fortunate or who are struggling. Shouldn’t we be able to follow their example?

As a teacher, every day I get to change a child’s trajectory in life. I get to teach kids the skills that will allow them to get a job. I get to be the supportive trusted adult in these kids’ lives so they can overcome difficult emotions and situations and know that they can do anything, that someone understands what they are going through and that they are going to be OK.

As a teacher, my students are my stewardship. After every year, I realize just how mature my students are because they go through and see so much. But I also realize that these students are going to do great things. If we create safe emotional environments for kids where they can develop the skills they need to cope with difficult emotions and situations, and if we provide the genuine support and connection they need, our kids will be able to do the great things they are capable of.

This article was written by Katie Sturgill, a first-grade teacher in Lehi, on behalf of EveryDay Strong at United Way of Utah County.