School is Starting, Kids are Psychologically Messed Up, and We All Need to Help

COVID has been traumatic for young people. For a year and a half
now, it’s either been impossible to go to school or the place
that they go to doesn’t match what they used to know as school.
The virus may have caused severe illness or death in their
families. It’s a frightening time for all of us and especially so
among the youngest and most vulnerable. So as in-class education
really begins again in earnest, what’s the state of these people
showing up to the classrooms and how can we, not just as parents
or teachers but members of society, help?


We speak with Ruby Ramirez, principal in the Dallas Independent
School District, about how she prepared her school for the state
of mind the students are returning with. One thing that’s helped
everyone feel better? Masks. Yep, the things that made everyone
so uncomfortable in the earlier days of COVID now give students a
sense of security in the classroom and hallways.


Masks are a big deal for Dr. Robin Gurwitch as well. She’s a
psychologist and Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
at Duke University School of Medicine and she points out that one
of the best ways to recover from our societal trauma is to stop
the virus itself. To do that, wear your dang masks where you’re
told to wear it. In the interview, Robin mentions some online
resources that could help anyone.


Here they are:


National Child Traumatic Stress Network
(www.nctsn.org or https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/disasters/pandemic-resources)

American Psychological Association
(https://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/parenting-caregiving) 

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Parent/Caregiver Guide
to Helping Families Cope with COVID-19   
https://www.nctsn.org/resources/supporting-children-during-coronavirus-covid19

Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress:
https://www.cstsonline.org/assets/media/documents/CSTS_FS_Discussing_Coronavirus_w_Your_Children.pdf  

https://www.cstsonline.org/assets/media/documents/CSTS_FS_Finding_Right_Words_Talk_Children_Teens_Coronavirus.pdf

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/for-parents.html

American Psychological Association
at https://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19). 


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