
Erin Castillo is an American school teacher who’s created an amazing resource to help teachers check in with their students about their mental health.
Posting the idea on Instagram earlier this month, the photograph shows a teacher’s whiteboard titled “Monday Check-in”, with sections labelled, “I’m great”, “I’m okay”, “I’m meh”, “I’m struggling”, “I’m having a tough time and wouldn’t mind a check-in”, and “I’m not doing great”.
The idea is that students place a post-it note with their name discreetly on the back in the section they want to, and throughout the week a teacher will know to touch base to see how the child is doing.
Castillo explained the concept further in her caption.
“I asked my students to write their names on the back of a post-it note so I could check in with ones in the bottom two sections,” she wrote.
“I explained the green section as them struggling, but speaking to another adult or trying to work through it themselves.
“High school is rough sometimes, but I was happy that a few were given a safe space to vent and work through some feelings.”
Top Comments
I think a better idea would be a locked mailbox somewhere in the room, where students could share whatever was on their mind - a thank you for a great lesson, a special request, a question about an upcoming assignment, mental health struggles, problems at home, etc. - without worrying about the other kids finding out. It's nice that she wants to give her students this outlet but the method needs some work.
How is anonymity preserved in this system?