“I never teach my pupils. I can only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”
                                                                                                                         -Albert Einstein

Emotional health can be defined as being in sync with our emotions, vulnerabilities, and authenticity as a person. Since all human beings, including kids, have emotions; hence keeping a check on our emotional health and those around us becomes equally important. Emotional health and mental health issues become difficult to notice as they aren’t as visible as physical health issues. Before we understand how teachers can support the emotional health of their students, let’s discuss why taking care of our emotional health is important.

The very first reason in this list is boosting self-esteem. Being in sync with our emotions, moods and feelings amount to what we think about ourselves. It helps us to identify our weaknesses and work on them accordingly. Another major reason has to be the overall well-being of a human being. People with emotional health issues can sometimes make uninformed decisions which can affect their life at greater lengths. Sound emotional health also allows us to form deeper relationships with family, friends, and people around us. It helps us network and connect with people we meet on a daily basis and share our feelings and experiences with them. Having any kind of stress impacts our concentration and that in turn impacts the way we function during our daily lives. Hence, keeping a check on our emotional health can also help us in dealing with stress. It can be seen that all these reasons lead to the overall well-being of a person. Teachers who are expected to not only teach academic concepts to students but also contribute to a student’s overall well-being should know about emotional health and ways of supporting a students’ emotional health.

Before we discuss how teachers can support their student's mental health, let’s get a glimpse of today’s classroom. For the most part of 2020-2021, Indian classrooms have been shifted to virtual classrooms. This situation has heightened the need of supporting the emotional health of all the students as most of the students are at their homes, unable to visit schools on a daily basis, following different routines, and away from their friends. Such a situation is unusual for a kid and has undoubtedly impacted the emotional and mental health of a lot of students. A study done by the Lancet says, “School routines are important coping mechanisms for young people with mental health issues. When schools are closed, they lose an anchor in life and their symptoms could relapse. Now that schools are closed, some lock themselves up inside their rooms for weeks, refusing to take showers, eat, or leave their beds. For some children, there will be considerable difficulties adjusting back to normal life when school resumes.” (2020)

A teacher can support the emotional health of a student in many ways. To start with, teachers need to be good listeners and have the patience to listen to their students. Secondly, they need to be mindful of each student’s background, situation, and feelings. The third important suggestion is discussing ways of emotional regulation- exercises, journaling, meditation, talking- that can help students manage their emotions. Keeping the current context in mind, teachers need to regularly talk to students about how they are dealing with the situation and if there’s anything that they need. It is also important to understand that supporting the emotional health of students differs from kindergarten to secondary school. Experts can be contacted for this purpose and teachers can be guided accordingly. Conducting regular conversations with students’ parents is also important as through this, a teacher can help them identify any unusual behavioural pattern in the student. 

Having said this, there are numerous other ways through which a teacher can support the emotional health of her students. Our habits and our patterns while growing up lead to the kind of adult we become. Hence, teachers are not only preparing students for a practical and skilled world but also for a better and balanced future.