Supporting Anxious Teens with Encouraging Words

Click on the image for your copy of this FREE poster!

Laughter and Tears

In the few chaotic minutes between classes, the hallways of most high schools are filled with teens who talk and laugh as they hustle themselves from one class to another, from lunch to the library, or from their lockers to the bus. At a glance, students appear happy, jovial, and sometimes, extraordinarily silly. But look closer and you will see teens staring at their cell phone screens to avoid eye contact with those they pass, crying in bathroom stalls, seething with anger, or stewing with frustration. Anxiety, in all of its forms and manifestations, is surging among middle and high school students, making learning and the ability to function in the school setting difficult to impossible for some of them.

 

 

Show them you care

Most teachers care deeply about their students, but we are not trained as counselors, so we encourage, listen, and refer them as best as we can. One way to show our support of students who struggle is to display words of encouragement in our classrooms. While putting up a few posters certainly won’t solve the many concerns plaguing our students, they do send a clear message that we truly care about our students and the struggles they face. A well-placed poster can set the tone for a class, help a student washing her hands in the bathroom know that there are people around her who care, or reach an anxious teen when he finally looks up from his iPhone screen.

If you would like to encourage your students, print out the posters attached to this post and display them in your classroom and your school’s hallways and common areas. Please share this post with your teacher, counselor, librarian, social worker, and administrator friends and pin it so that others will be able to find these as well. Let’s spread the word to our students that they have hope and that we are always supporting and encouraging them. Please come back and check for new posters in the future. I’ll be adding more posters designed to help students feel supported and cared for, and I hope you’ll find them encouraging a well!

 

 

I posted this on the wall outside my classroom. I printed and laminated it at Staples and the lamination makes the colors POP!  You’ll find this FREE poster in my TpT store. Click on the poster or click here: Secondary Strategies.

So tell me, where will you hang these posters?