Students in the Stages of Grief

Teachers will come across students that are dealing with Loss. This can be: Death, Moving Away, Loss of a Friend, Divorce, Changing Illness, or a Disability. Teachers should first understand the Stages of Grief: Shock, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Testing, and Acceptance. Teachers should look to see if students are showing signs of the Stages of Grief so they can help the student get through their harsh time. If teachers do see a student going through the Stages of Grief, then there are things they should not do. Never say, "Things will get better," loss never goes away, pain is only resolved. Also never say, "I Understand," this is the worse thing you can say to a student going through loss, it is actually an insult to the student. No one has the same experiences/same relationship that the student has/had. Things for teachers to do is to be empathetic and say things like, "Sorry to hear that,"teachers should acknowledge what they are saying/addressing, or else the student will close up.