School Stress

Parents, if your child is returning to the classroom, take a moment to talk and listen. The first step to supporting kids when they are stressed is to communicate. What we see on the outside does not always reveal how they feel on the inside.

Until we listen, we will never understand their struggles. The first step to change requires empathetic listeners. Teenagers face the same adversities as adults. They are not insulated by their age and in fact because of their limited life experiences and maturity levels, their feelings are sometimes more intense. As a high school teacher, I didn’t understand the stress students felt, self-imposed and perceived, until I started listening.

Bree Harvey

Yeah, I know what they say about me

It’s just when I stress

I get inside my head and can’t get out

Confusion makes me look like

the dumb blonde they think I am

I am going to fail

I just know it

No matter how hard I try

bad grades pop up on my phone

Every time a teacher updates grades

Teachers aren’t very good

I should have an A

Mom got me a tutor

who tries to help me understand

When she has the pencil, it makes sense

When I work on the packet,

a hurricane swirls in my head

The more I stress,

the more I confuse myself

When I can’t calm down,

the anxiety gets worse

Slow down

Deep breath

Relax

Samantha Melendez

Melissa and I have always been friends

But I want to have other friends too!

Kelly may be new to our group

But she is still a friend

Why should I have to choose?

This drama stresses me to the max

Sometimes, I just wanna

Go home, turn off my phone, and sleep

I don’t understand this friendship stuff

I earn a 4.0 without cracking a book — easy

Making and keeping friends is hard

Isaiah Skow

Elementary school was the beginning

I remember

The first time the teacher asked,

“Where’s your homework?”

I responded

“I don’t know.”

She looked disappointed

I would have liked it better if she’d

Just been mad

(That came later)

But how could I answer that question?

“Where is it?”

“Where is something if it doesn’t exist?”

So, I started lying.

“It’s at home.”

“On my bed.”

“Lost it on the bus.”

“I can’t find it.”

The disappointment shifted to anger

Which was easier

But nothing good comes from anger

So, I ignored it

Pretty soon the teacher ignored

My missing work

Then she ignored me

It was easier for us both

Figures

Self-promotion

Based on 35 years of teaching, I have written and published Lockers Speak: Voices of America’s Youth in an attempt to give a voice to the students. They wrote about adversities, and I turned them into anonymous verses to share feelings, fears, and frustrations. The collection is published in Lockers Speak.

Wondering how to initiate communication with your child? Read a book together and discuss it.

These poems share experiences of the many events that shape the lives of the youth of America. The verses expose both hidden secrets and honest reality. As a reader meets new characters, the lives of the characters become interconnected and at times remain totally isolated.