Student Responses

It’s important. Outside of their profession, they are still people after all. As teachers, their mental health may also affect how they interact with students and their ability to fulfill their profession’s purposes.

I think it is important just like anyone else's mental health is important. As educators they are a large part in out community and directly affect us students a lot therefore is very important to us.

It is important because when teachers are mentally healthy, it will most likely improve their quality of teaching and improve the way they interact with the students, allowing the students to learn better as well.

Their mental health is definitely important 1) for their own well-being and 2) so that they can provide a good environment for their students to learn in.

It would help them perform better for students, making the learning environment more beneficial for both. Also they are just people who would benefit from having a good mental health.

I think a teacher's mental health is important because at the end of the day, they are human and have their own personal life on top of their career.

Everyone’s mental health is important and that goes for teachers as well.

Empathy for someone who has dedicated a solid portion of their life for the betterment of others.

HECK YES they’re people too and every human deserves to have good health WHICH INCLUDES mental health as well

As students we don't really think about our teacher and how they are doing we just assume that they are doing fine and sometimes its to much for the teacher so they end up blowing up with all of their bottled up emotions. As students we should take some time to think about the teachers and staff because they are human beings not just tools for education.

A teacher has a big influence on their students usually, so if the teacher is going through a hardship/is upset it will negatively the state and learning of the students.

Important so that they’re able to provide quality education while also taking care of themselves.

Because teachers play a key role in helping students learn. So if they have poor mental health, it will likely influence the students and their mental health.

Teachers are people just like students. They often undergo heavy amount of stress from caring for students, getting underpaid, managing being a teacher beyond actual education instruction (supervising clubs), etc.

A teacher’s mental health is important not only for the sake of the teacher themself, but for their students, fellow admin, and anyone they interact with. When a teacher is not mentally and/or emotionally well, it can affect their physical well being and result in more health-related consequences. In addition, they’re teaching methods, way of speaking to others, and just overall ability to listen to their students if need be is also impacted which can lead to further problems for both the teacher and their students.

Its important because they teach us and their health affects our learning

idk

It helps the teacher teach better and make their job more productive.

Teachers' mental health matters because they are people.

cuz they be workin hard

Teachers are responsible for taking care of hundreds or thousands of kids throughout their career, and it's important that they are mentally stable and healthy, because if they aren't, they can cause issues in the learning and growth of their students.

It is important because it reflects on how they treat their students. An unhappy teacher = unhappy students.

is, because they should practice what they preach

A teacher's mental health is important because a not only are they people who deserve happiness and stability, but their mental health can affect their teaching environment.

Teacher mental health is important because ultimately the school environment opens anyone up, student, teacher or administrator to situations that can lead to mental health issues. Especially for teachers who are exposed to all kinds of students day in day out, unaddressed mental health issues can build up and without being addressed can cause serious issues for them.

because teachers are humans

It is important because mental health is important for everyone no matter what they do. If anything it’s also extra important for them because they are tasked with teaching over a hundred students each day and grading all their work.

A teachers mental health can affect their ability to teach. Having a good attitude is important to spread positivity to their students.

They are ppl

A teacher’s mental health is very important because the emotions that they are feeling almost always indirectly affects how their class feels as a whole

Important because it can affect their teaching

Is because it reflects onto how they are towards students.

Is important because if effects how they perform and feel.

Teachers with bad days give students bad days

A teacher’s mental health is definitely important, as a teacher’s health can definitely affect students in terms of the amount of content covered, the quality of learning, and even student stress (having constant substitutes, inconsistent agendas, a teacher’s lack of availability to be contacted, etc.). Above all, we should also view teachers as essential workers whose health and well-being should be valued over “productivity”.

A teacher's mental health is important because they have to grade many paper in short amount of time.

I think a teacher's mental health is important as it not only affects the teachers themselves, but may also impact their teaching and reflect on the mental health of the student body.

teachers are humans too

A teacher's mental health is important because in order to foster connections with other students and provide them with the tools to succeed throughout their academic career, they must be in a mental state where their mental health is not in jeopardy.

I think that a teacher's mental health is important because they are people too. Just because they are a figure of authority does not mean they are not susceptible to mental health concerns nor are they immune to emotional troubles.

It is important because mental health is important and they are people too

Because a teacher is another human being just like any other people at school. Like how school and many teachers care about students' mental health and offers many opportunities to talk to someone to get help, they should care about teachers' mental health too.

A teacher’s mental health is important first off because they are human beings who often get overlooked when we think about mental health at school. But also, a teacher with good mental health is more likely to be able to put their all into teaching their students (better quality + more efficient school system).

A teacher's mental health is important because it affects their ability to actively teach and thus affects the education of students. Additionally, teachers are human too and they should prioritize their own health over their profession.

They’re humans with emotions, too!

It is important cause everyone’s mental health is important

I think it is so that they can better teach students on campus.

It affects their well being.

I think a teacher’s mental health is important firstly on the basic principle that they are also people and therefore have basic rights. A lot of students rely on teachers as well so they can learn effectively in school.

it is because then teachers are able to teach better and also be more emotionally available to students struggling.

It may affect their teaching ability, empathy, and they are just like students: their mental health matters.

Mostly, their mental health is important just because they are people as well, which is something that I think students tend to forget at time. They have their own problems and can make mistakes, so it's important that they take care of their mental health for their own happiness, as well as to promote a better learning environment.

A teacher’s mental health is important because they significantly contribute to the school environment, and hold a great part in building the community.

It’s important because we need our teachers in order to get us ahead in what we’re doing in school. If our teachers are out to to mental health and students get subbed in w substitutes, there’s a lack of a learning environment in that sense.

Not much? At least not that I think of. I can’t recall instances where it was noticeably affecting my learning environment, which is to say I couldn’t tell if their mental health was good/bad. It just felt like a normal learning environment.

I don't recall anything super specific with mental health affecting my learning environment in any negative ways. On the other hand, when my teachers are in a good mood and appear to be in a good mental state classes are much more enjoyable.

Not too sure since it is difficult to tell when someone is is not doing mentally well.

Most of my teachers have seemed pretty mentally healthy to me; however, I’ve heard stories of teachers being absent a lot (especially during distance learning) due to mental health issues.

Occasionally I can tell if a teacher is in a bad mood about something, and that might change the mood of the whole class, but often times they do a good job of distancing themselves from it during the class.

I don't recall a teacher's mental health affecting my specific learning/ learning environment.

It’s only natural for one’s mental health to affect their work. So, I would assume that my teachers’ mental health has affected my learning environment because teachers are a big part of it.

Unpredictable behavior leading to student anxiety.

YES i remember teachers being so sad about students not showing their faces in class that one particular one simply ended our zoom call without saying anything.

I've had teacher's in the past who have felt sad or came into the class and you could see that their mood is different from other days but at the same time you can't really tell because they try to come to school on days when they are feeling down but they still try to give a 100% to their students.

Yes

Yes

I have had situations where when teachers showed signs of having a poor mental health, they tend to be more sensitive and easily “triggered”. Making me and the classroom environment feel very uncomfortable and tense.

My teachers have generally been kind enough to ensure their mental health doesn’t affect our learning all that much. However, it’s clear when they are stressed and I try to help them as much as possible.

To be honest, I don’t really remember having a teacher’s mental health affect my ability to learn properly. I think for teachers, they are expected to remain professional even when they are struggling behind the scenes, and because of this, students are often unaffected by any problems that their teachers may be dealing with. This can be considered both a positive and negative thing: positive since the students remain relatively unaffected; negative because it is forcing teachers to hide their emotions which can have its consequences.

yes

I've had teachers who have struggled a lot emotionally which affected their teaching, they stopped helping students learn and were very overwhelmed all the time. Had they had access to mental health services our class would have been better, many people dropped the course after that year because of the disorganization and teacher attitude.

Sometimes they have been mean or shown their stress on students.

Unfortunately, since I didn't know much about the topic, I couldn't really notice the state of their mental health. Looking back, many of them voiced their stress and large workload, but they didn't really seem to let it affect them overall.

it affects the learning experience, helping w their mental health helps us

A few teachers in my past would not put effort into making class fun or enjoyable, and I reciprocated their effort, and didn't really spend time working for the class or learning the material.

In the past when my teachers seemed overwhelmed, they seemed to not have the support taht they needed. This made the learning environment less productive.

haven’t really, or at least hasn’t allowed it to significantly impact class

If a teacher was upset at something in their life one day, students could tell there was something wrong and sometimes it would lead teachers to become more sensitive and upset with the students.

My teachers generally have been good about separating their mental health from the classroom and avoid it affecting the students. However, although not directly many teachers have delayed grading and responding to students due to hinted at mental health issues, but it has never significantly affected the learning environment.

if teacher is happy/nice they give points back

Oftentimes teachers have had to take days off to get a mental break, meaning the lesson plan would be altered to allow the substitute to keep the class going.

A positive cheerful attitude makes me a lot more willing to learn.

Unsure

I personally haven’t been affected

I never noticed it so they haven't affected my learning environment

Can’t perfectly tell but sometimes teachers seem to interact with students less

Sometimes teachers will be tired in the morning, and that could lead to a low energy class.

My teacher did not teach well and we had a lot of subs and not enough lectures because her grandma had died

I have not been affected directly from what I know of, but I have heard from other sridents

Yes

Yes

Teachers being stressed out and tired can be contagious for students. Also when they seem tired, class gets "boring" and awfully silent.

Teacher's who seem to have healthy mental space are able to bring positivity to their class, as well as being able to prioritize their student's (because their own health is not a worry).

When I was in middle school, one of my teachers was going through a difficult time involving their depression. Though they never explicitly stated their diagnosis, it was heavily implied through their words and the kinds of phrases they'd use. Because of the state of their mental health, they were prone to emotional breakouts, had little to no energy during class time, and deprioritized their students as well as their job. Though their struggles were valid and understandable, it made learning in their class difficult and frustrating.

I think most of them have had good mental health so the learning environment was good

I think if the teacher looks tired and acts tired the classroom environment get a little moody and uncomfortable.

Last year in AP Spanish, my teacher had quite a bit of anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and home issues which impacted not only the teacher but also the students and their learning (more independent work on students with some weeks with just a sub and two months leading up to the AP exam we ended class like 30-40 minutes early for the teacher’s treatment). Generally teacher’s who are vocal about their mental health give breaks to their students when their own mental health isn’t doing too well but I’m pretty sure there are quite a few other teachers who just hide it.

I have not had an experience where a teacher's mental health has affected my learning, but I understand that it can be difficult to express such topics with a large group of students.

I’m not sure…? So sorry ahh

Teachers can get moody and be wishy washy when their mental health is bad

I don't think so??? But sometimes it will be VERY obvious that a teacher is stressed out and then it makes the whole period poopy.

"Sometimes, during remote learning, teachers have showed up with not much prepared to class. They are not hosting office hours or are able to respond to emails. They are behind on grading.

On the other hand, some teachers struggle with covering the whole curriculum in the limited amount of time. They are constantly hosting office hours and responding emails. They appear a lot of pressure and stress."

It hasn’t very much, at least not that I’m aware of.

I’m not sure, but I definitely think the teachers i had that had better mental health were a lot better at teaching and supporting students than the ones with worse mental health.

All of the teachers that I have had never exhibited “bad” mental health.

As far as I know, they haven't.

N/A

My teachers gone to therapy during our zoom class which cut out time for our learning. Of course it’s understandable as to why she had to leave sometimes but in the end it does affect students

Don’t think so

Yes, I have heard my Japanese teacher talk about how creating assignments and classwork for all of her classes if often a lot of work. It normally comes up in just casual conversation on how classes are going. She mentions it in such a causal way that it seems like she's used to it and will be fine though.

No

During fall, a lot of teachers have to write letter of recommendations for their students. They’re not really compensated for this job, so it’s just extra work that many teachers have to spend time on. Some of my teachers have mentioned this workload before.

Only in the form of casual conversation/jokes, never with an incredibly serious tone.

Yes, my language teacher once voiced how she felt like she had too many things on her plate because of shortage in staff for the department. She let the class know that she would be slow on grading and getting back to our emails because she was managing various levels of the language. This took place during online school.

Yes, I did hear teachers talk about when they need breaks, or cannot do something for that reason…

One teacher in particular mentioned how almost every teacher has cried in their car at some point.

yes only bc i asked them though during tutorial. i remember asking a teacher (1-on-1) about how online learning was her early September and she was pretty candid about her struggles managing a work life balance

Not often, usually if a teacher is feeling those things they don't really communicate with their students on that topic. The teacher usually just holds their emotions till after the class so the students do really see the other side.

Yes. Everyone was having a hard time during distance learning. They used their class kind of like a rant space and often yelled at their students. It was awkward since you didn't want to say anything but then they would get mad that no one was talking.

Yes when they have had family situations going on.

Not really, the most I have experienced was when teachers would say that they would tell the class that they have lots of work to do, but they usually don’t get too much into and try to pass it off with sarcasm. From what I can remember, most of the time, teachers tend to try and not let their stress affect the students, but sometimes it is clear that they are dealing with a lot.

Yes, one of my teachers lives 2 hours away and while he doesn’t voice his stress often, he sometimes tells me about how he doesn’t get much sleep and how commuting for four hours everyday is exhausting.

Yes. I think many of my teachers are afraid to let their students know when they are not doing well mentally or emotionally. Often, they might say “xyz happened so I’m a little on edge today” or “just wanted to let you guys know that I’m living off of ___ hours of sleep” or “if I seem out of it or snappy please don’t take it personally as Imm currently going through some stuff.” But regardless of what it is they are dealing with, they always ensure that their students are comfortable and never compromise the education of their students for their own mental health at least during class time. And I have a lot of respect and empathy for those teachers because I think we all know how hard it is to force on a smile just for the people around you even if internally you are crying/angry/depressed/etc.

when they in a bad mood they do not teach well

Yes they go on rants once in a while. I've had teachers cry, very difficult position to be in as students due to the power dynamic.

Yes, they talk about less sleep and stress grading papers before the progress grades deadline.

Yes, especially when a large amount of big assignments are turned in, like long essays or expansive group projects.

yea they were sleep deprived and it affected their teaching negatively

Not really, maybe a few times in middle school I heard some teachers voice their stress or anger.

yeah, one of my teachers talked about her back pain and how distanced learning made teaching a much less rewarding process.

workload, usually grading papers and such

Yes, multiple teachers have complained in front of their students about how they are unappreciated and don't deserve the scrutiny. For example, teachers have complained about their students complaining to them about their assignments still being ungraded. When teachers announce to their students about their own personal stress over the amount of assignments and work they have, it seems like the blame is placed on the students.

Teachers have voiced their history with stress while they were students, most of the time it has been understanding of student stress rather than teachers voicing their own problems.

once in a while -one teacher talked abt managing homelife and grading

Yes, I have heard it with teachers struggling to deal with the load of schoolwork as well as managing family life, children especially. Also the letter of recommendation season came be difficult for teachers

No

Ms. Robison cares about teacher mental health

Very rarely when teachers are stressed about something, they can be snappy. I remember this happened during the 2016 presidential election

No

No, they don’t really voice it prob cuz that seems unprofessional

Yes, I have heard them talking about grading and being tired.

Yes My teachers grandma died and she talked about it during class.

Based on what I’ve heard from other students, many teachers seem to “bottle up” and refrain from talking about mental health. It often seems like teachers are also extremely stressed with having to teach multiple classes per day. Especially during COVID, many teachers who are immunocompromised or have family members who are elderly, have health conditions, or are too young to get vaccinated experience significant amounts of additional stress

They might have voiced their stress, sleep deprivation, over workload, but they rarely bring it up during class.

Yes, I have heard of some of my teachers discussing the lack of sleep they receive or being overwhelmed by work.

One time, I was in Mr. Steemers office hours on zoom. When he showed me the answer key, he realized that he made a mistake. Then he placed his head down for a solid 5 min. I can see how tired he was.

N/A

Yes, my seventh grade world history teacher would constantly share her lack of sleep having to grade students' work, how she generally got 2-3 hours of sleep per night, and how grading students' work was stressful and time consuming. She was a person that loved coffee, and she'd express her love for it because it "helped her survive". When she'd brew her coffee during class, she'd share how her usual day is like and how tired she was every week.

No

I think some of my teachers from the past just casually said, "I have a lot to do." But other that, I don't really remember other instances.

There have been comments about an overload of grading and the fact that sometimes they have so much to handle with their kids and classes that they are overwhelmed. Honestly, my teachers started being more vocal about their stress when the pandemic hit (little bit of destigmatization around mental health).

No, I have not encountered such an experience.

Plenty of times through quarantine and sometimes teachers are super open about how their day is going each class

maybe i don’t remember

"YES OMG so one time stavis was basically venting(???) to us about his kids and how he got no sleep and then was p snappy at some people and like literally last week cheung is like ""i got no sleep"" and im j like ""ok and?""

NOT BC i dont care but like also i dont rly care all that much OOPS SORRY BUT I J WANNA LEARN

dont tell anyone that i called them out HAHAHAH"

"Sometimes, teachers complain about the administration. Or like, the Wednesday schedules this year.

I guess some teachers, however, don't work after six. Like they will choose not to respond to email for their own work-life balance. This does not appear to be the case with teacher teaching more advanced subjects, however."

Yes. Teachers have jokingly complained about students but I think jokes have a kernel of truth of them and I know students can be frustrating sometimes. In one period, with a particular talkative class, the bell rang a student tried to walk out and the teacher said they would have to report the student to admin later. It seemed to really affect the teachers day as I heard them tell their colleagues they had a bad day. A more severe incident was when one of my teachers starting crying in class. I don’t have much context but I assume she was stressed out or had something going on in her personal life. She seemed really embarrassed and kept apologizing but as 6th graders, neither me nor my classmates knew how to approach the situation.

A teacher blew up about her having to neglect her children in order to grade tests when she found out people were cheating on her test.

No, just that they have a lot of papers to grade.

I've heard teachers talk about how overworked they are, whether that's taking care of their children/family, grading, or just other personal issues. I hear this most often as an explanation for why something hasn't been graded when promised, and rarely hear any complaints about their mental health for no legitimate reason.

Yes, during remote learning I remember Mrs. Hooper talking about how it’s a hard year for teachers, and how many feel burnt out. She also talked about how interacting with students over zoom is significantly more stressful compared to talking in person.

When it get down to grading periods, they tend to stress the idea that they won’t accept late work, which again, is understandable because it creates more work for a teacher as opposed to someone having their assignments done on time .

Probably create a better and more positive learning environment for students. Your own mental health will affect your interactions with other, whether consciously or subconsciously.

I think improving teacher's mental health will foster a much more positive learning environment. I think that a teachers mood and approach to class greatly influences the atmosphere of the learning environment meaning that an improvement to teacher mental health would result in more positive learning environments.

Teachers are more likely to be happier and more positive in class and be more eager to show up to work and teach. This energy rubs off on the students as well, making them more excited to learn!

Definitely would create a better, more efficient work environment for everyone.

I think it would be more beneficiary for the teachers than the students, but having a teacher who is in a good mood would definitely still benefit the students. I think teachers do a good job of not showing their struggles to the class, but not having those struggles at all would be a better solution.

I think improving teacher's mental health would definitely ease tensions between teachers and students. I have heard of instances where teacher's express their emotions and often face backlash for doing so, but in reality we fail to realize that they might also be dealing with issues.

Someone who's in a stable condition on their own will be able to do/give more to others, such as in the classroom.

when teachers are happy, they’ll be more passionate and excited about what they’re teaching which will be conveyed in their teaching style. students will pick up on this and become excited themselves and be more likely to absorb content and feel positive towards their learning

One thing is if the teacher is feeling down that day the mood or atmosphere of the classroom could definitely be put down and the students could definitely feel that because of this the students tend to absorb the negative energy.

I think it would be a beneficial to decrease these types of situations.

It will help to make learning more enjoyable because the teachers are doing better with themselves.

I think it will help teachers come into the classroom with a better mood and give them a chance to reflect and realize the reason why they still choose to be a teacher. This can help keep the classroom environment very positive and enjoyable and make students feel a lot more encouraged to come to class.

Improving teachers’ mental health would exponentially improve our learning experience. Teachers are the leaders of the classroom and often set the tone for the class. We should definitely look more into the mental healths of teachers.

"I think improving teachers’ mental health might make it easier for students to approach their teachers or just interact with them in general.

Just imagine you are a teacher and you’re just not having it today, your mental health is 📉📉📉, you are irritable, moody, upset, etc., but then are forced to fake a smile and talk to people, listen to the problems of your students, help your students, teach without letting your problems get in the way, and so on. It would tough. Really tough. Just like how some students just can’t deal with school on some days or need a mental health day, teachers have their own problems as well, but because they are teachers, we as students expect them to find away to make it to class and deal with it, which is unfair to the teachers.

Having ways to support and help teachers would be beneficial for their students’ own learning, make it easier to come to school everyday, and improve their overall wellbeing. And when someone is doing well, it shows. So improving the mental health of teachers would not only benefit my own learning experience, but it also be beneficial to the teachers and their peers as well. Afterall, we are all human.

(why did i just write a whole essay i should do this on my college essays TT)"

they teach better and make a better classroom environment

Healthy mental health would help the teachers be their best self and lead the classroom better.

We can give more teacher break days and spend more resources on teacher mental health from the admin side.

It may make them more cheerful and easier for them to interact with us.

might make the classes easier

It would make school more enjoyable, I would be able to make closer connections with teachers, and feel more comfortable around them, and overall awesomeness

Mostly by enhancing the classroom environment and making it a less stressful place to learn.,

quality of teaching, which will in turn effect the quality of learning

I think improving teachers mental health will improve my learning experience and will make learning possibly more fun and allow teachers to not only be happier but also more open-minded.

A happier teacher theoretically would teach better and more passionately, and create a more enjoyable environment to learn in.

it will make teachers more happy which matters

It will make them more comfortable in school and also improve the quality of learning for everyone involved

Happier teachers means they will be more lenient with grading, compared to a cranky teacher.

Better quality teaching, faster grading

Teachers will feel more motivated to make everyone feel happy and get the most out of the learning experience

Maybe they'll be able to teach better, but they already teach well enough so idk

The really interactive teachers that help out a lot are a lot better for students’ education

More energetic class, and better learning.

Get them all therapists please or get them some therapeutic help

I think it’ll definitely normalize and reduce the societal stigma around talking openly about mental health. Especially with students receiving their education from teachers, I hope that allowing teachers to be open about these issues will also encourage students to seek the support that they need :))

I think school district can provide mental care.

I think it will improve it overall.

Will make it more engaging

I think it will continue to provide me with a good, if not better learning experience.

I believe that it will allow teachers to take more care for their students, have more energy for their job as well as out-of-school hobbies and family activities, and create a more energizing and interactive learning environment.

It will help things run smoother for everyone

I think the classroom environment or mood will get much better if we improve teachers' mental health.

Definitely it would improve! Addressing teacher’s mental health will not only increase focus on student’s mental health but also contribute to destigmatizing the topic especially at our school where academics are everything. The teachers will be able to put more time and effort into their teaching but also as a human being they would be doing well, creating a better ambience/learning environment!

When teachers struggle in their mental health, their commitment in teaching decays which negatively affects the education of students. By providing resources to improve teachers' mental health, students benefit because the teacher is able to dedicate their attention to actively teaching students.

It’ll probably help students’ moods and make them more willing to approach the teachers

they’ll probably be nicer and more willing to help

i think itll make the experience a lot better bc itll help them be more patient (?? i think) and also translate into being a better teacher uwu

I think it will make teachers more healthy and successful at their jobs.

Teachers will probably be able teach more effectively but also connect with students better. I find teacher student interaction to be helpful because it makes student enjoy and look forward to that class.

It will definitely make teachers a lot more rational and fair, and also help them teach better

The whole classroom environment would be better.

I think it will overall just result in a more positive environment in the classroom, as well as a better learning experience overall, although the teachers at CHS are generally pretty good about not letting their own mental health drag down the class.

I think that it will improve the energy and spirit of the classroom environment overall.

Better environment for all