When It's NOT the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Supporting our students who are not looking forward to winter break.

​For many of us the holiday season is truly like the Andy Williams tune the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”  Many of our Rochester Public School students are anxiously anticipating the ten-day winter break from classes. They have holiday plans, will participate in family traditions, festive meals and parties, visit relatives, attend seasonal events, travel and have time to just play with friends and possibly new toys they have received. Looking forward to these things can be exciting.  However, as teachers with classrooms of diverse students, we need to be mindful that for some students this is not the case.  

Most teachers are very aware of the cultural diversity within their classroom and try to address the holiday season with cultural sensitivity by not promoting one holiday over another. Nevertheless, how can we support the students that are just not looking forward to being away from school for such an extended period?  As Trevor Muir wrote in his blog: Not All Students Look Forward to the Holidays: 

​“While most kids (and teachers!) flee from the school gleefully on the last day, [there are some] that dread the break from school. They miss the structure of the school day; the stability of the classroom: the presence of friends; the free food in the cafeteria; and the love their teachers give them.”

If we take a moment to pause and think about it, it is my guess that each teacher could think of students they work with that will have these feelings of dread for the approaching break. These students do not have family events to look forward to, they will not be receiving gifts, some will wonder who will care for them and others will wonder from where they will get their next meal.

So how  can we best support these students? The following is a list (compiled from suggestions from the resources cited below) of ways we can support our most vulnerable students during this time.

Be the listener your students need

Talk privately with your students about what they might be doing over the break so you know which students may need emotional support or help with resources to get them through this time.

Be aware of how you talk about winter break

In his blog, Trevor Muir has excellent advice about how to be sensitive to all students when you talk about winter break. Change the conversation from “What are you excited about?” and “What are you going to get?” to challenge them about what they might accomplish or who they might be able to help out.

Give students the opportunity to serve

As a class brainstorm a list of ways students could help or serve others during the time off. There is always that good feeling you get when you know you have helped or made a difference for someone else. 

Provide resources for our students with the greatest needs

If you have a student(s) with resource needs, connect with your school social workers as they may be aware of a more comprehensive list of community resources. Below are some of our local organizations that provide resources for students and families in need.

• In our district, Mayo, John Marshall and Century High Schools  have Community Resource rooms where students can access food, clothing and hygiene products.
•  Riverside and Gage Elementary schools also have Community Resource rooms.
•  The Rochester Salvation Army http://salvationarmynorth.org/community/rochester/

              The Rochester Salvation Army assists residents of Olmsted County with a wide range of programs,                        including food, housing and health services.

•  Community Food Response (CFR) is a volunteer-led nonprofit that provides free meals to hungry people to take home or eat elsewhere. This website provides dates and locations for free meals. http://www.communityfoodresponse.org/
• TEAM Rochester is a community faith based partnership that provides food distribution to needy persons and families. http://teamrochester.net/inHisName.html  each month, In His Name reaches out with food and faith providing food boxes at a cost of only $10 to the recipients.  

As much as we would like to, we cannot make this the most wonderful time of the year for all our students, but with a little thoughtfulness we may be able to make it a little less difficult for those that are struggling.

This post brought to you by Julie Ace, Elementary Implementation Associate

References:
Not All Students Look forward to the Holidays, Trevor Muir, https://www.weareteachers.com/supporting-students-winter-break/ Dec. 14, 2017
Parenting Kids As much as we would like to, we cannot make this the most wonderful time of the year for all our students, but with a little thoughtfulness we may be able to make it a little less difficult for those that are struggling.
Who Sabotage the Holidays, https://www.thechaosandtheclutter.com/archives/parenting-kids-who-sabotage-holidays
5 Reasons You might NOT Look Forward to the Holidays, http://wisestressmastery.com/5-reasons-holidays/ December 3, 2015