When we picture a classroom, and classroom mental health, we perhaps think of a specific pairing: teachers and students. But what creates a healthy, supportive learning environment is a mental health ecosystem, comprised of teachers and students, of course, but also Principals, Vice Principals, Athletic Directors, counsellors, special education staff, therapists (speech, occupational, physical, and mental health), librarians (including media and reading specialists), coaches, administrative assistants, encumbrance clerks, nutritionists, teacher’s aides, paraprofessionals, nurses, cooks, custodians, maintenance staff, bus drivers, and many more. Everyone has a vital role, which reminds us that what creates a mentally healthy classroom—a thriving, rich ecosystem—is not just curriculum.


At some point in elementary school, each of us learned that the mitochondria is ‘the powerhouse of the cell.’ The mitochondria is famous—the quarterback or point guard of cell biology. But within the ecosystem of a cell, the mitochondria is just one component. What supports its function? What functions does it support? How are these relationships cyclical instead of extractive? And how does this framework apply to everyone in a school system? Let’s explore some practical examples for not only teachers, but everyone tethered to education.


The myth of “I”

In or outside of a classroom, there’s almost never ill intent behind “I did it!” Of course, personal achievements are wonderful, often boosting confidence, energy, self-esteem, learning enthusiasm, and work ethic stamina. “I did it” can also apply to mistakes, losses, and harm caused. The truth, in both cases, is that the “I” is often mis-weighted, carrying success or blame in full.


Part of curating a classroom that values community-oriented mental health is decentring individualist conceptions of success and failure. Encouraging students to see the peers, adults, and mentors in their community is vital, aiding an understanding of who does or can influence them and who they do or can influence.


Whether students receive the grade they hoped for or not, for example, both possibilities are opportunities for reflection, gratitude, honesty, and ultimately, connectivity. Hard work is always something to celebrate, but the conditions for hard work don’t exist in a vacuum. These conditions are a mentally healthy classroom, and they run as deep as the school nurse checking in on a student who hasn’t been feeling well, offering the care that allows them to study when they arrive home safely (thanks to their bus driver and the student-safety team at crosswalks!). Encouraging students to be aware of and communicate with their school ecosystem helps them express gratitude for the ways in which everyone supports each other. Further, this mindset and awareness enables them to locate relationships or resources that can be improved, either on their part or by someone else in the ecosystem. Beneath any clinical mental health concerns that may arise, this practice can be a protective bedrock. One way to strengthen or incorporate it could be scheduling 10 minutes at the beginning or end of the school day for everyone to write in a gratitude notebook. To deepen the practice across the entire school, students and staff alike could rip pages from their notebook and pin them to a shared bulletin board in the main foyer of the school.


There is no such thing as ‘self-made’—in both desired or undesired ways. It’s often easier to apply this mindset to the former. But the latter must be practiced, too. When something goes wrong, what seems like the epicentre—the student or teacher, for example—isn’t the only variable. If the mitochondria malfunctions, it’s not only the mitochondria’s fault. There are other parts of the cell to investigate, too. All emotions, feelings, and experiences are valid, and part of this tapestry, which always coexists with accountability. If a foundation of appreciation, recognition, and gratitude has been cultivated, it becomes the room in which conflict or mental health struggles can be effectively navigated and supported.



This applies to staff, too

Modelling these practices isn’t easy in an energy-rich, demanding environment. It’s a fact that time, funding, and resources for education—across the board—are declining. But there are steps to take. One saying offers, “The quality of our connection defines the depth of our existence.” Spend an extra few seconds on emails, phone calls, and conversations to mention something beyond academics, logistics, or needs. What can you remember about a co-worker, student, or their parent/guardian that you could check-in on or ask about when you speak with them about a test grade, for example? Another saying notes that, “Many things aren’t forgotten, they’re just not cared enough about to be remembered.” This sounds harsh in the context of schools frequently being exhausting places to work. Of course, your time and attention are valuable—nobody intends to forget, or not care. You’re consistently triaging and boundary-setting, which can be presented and absorbed as not caring enough about what tumbles down the priority list. It’s less about ‘not caring’ as an intentional choice (it most likely isn’t!), and more about asking: how can everyone be mindful of this trend, and offer additional care whenever they can?


Knowing the community that we engage with most often—even if just a bit more than we do now—builds trust, collective care, and the intimacy needed to tend serious mental health concerns should they arise (for staff or students). By offering a touch more care, slowness, and intentionality, you become someone to turn to—someone trustworthy via having safely carrying small pieces of one another. Being invested in community mental health—in this case in a school—isn’t just about checking the boxes of your job or role. It’s about being a thoughtful, integrated part of ensuring everyone feels able, welcome, and safe to do their part, too.


Creativity is your most precious skill

It’s no secret that creativity is under attack. What happens to a world full of people who can’t imagine change before it happens? It becomes very easy to manipulate and control them. Would anyone be free if they hadn’t imagined their freedom enough to fight for it?


If you’re feeling exhausted, threatened, and afraid working in education, you’re not alone. Your role, and how you chose to wield it, has always been a form of fighting back. Imagination and creativity take root in childhood. How can you revive yours? Doing so only ever benefits the mental health of your school and classrooms—creative students and staff can imagine healing and change when they’re struggling with their mental health. You may have heard, especially recently, that joy is revolutionary. This is amplified when you create an environment for joyful learning.


Break the status quo! Be as creative and fun as you can with lessons and all forms of teaching and engagement. Lean into and utilize your talents, skills, passions, and personal creative practices. In particular, storytelling and fiction are often fruitful. Human beings are wired to digest and remember stories—it’s encoded into our DNA. Using pre-existing stories and books (or creating your own) as frames fosters an environment where students feel free to explore, experiment, and create meaningfully in response. Toni Morrison notably said that “The function of freedom is to free someone else.” This is the very fabric of safety, which in a classroom says, “We will never trap or stifle you here.”


Further inherent in this environment is the importance of feeling comfortable being uncomfortable, a task of the freedom to learn. Both teaching and learning are spiritual, emotional experiences. Building on something new, or even on top of a strong foundation, puts stress and pressure on the past. This is a healthy challenge to encourage—it’s not at all weak to admit that we were wrong or have learned something new.


Importantly, when we learn something new about the world, it’s no different than realizing we were wrong about something. The latter tends to carry a negative connotation, but if treated equally, will enable open dialogue about change, growth, learning, and reconciliation. This mindset directly applies to mental health: working through complex thoughts and emotions while uncomfortable distinguishes discomfort from unsafety.


Overall, the secret spice for a mental health-friendly classroom is simple: small changes to enhance whole community cohesiveness, vulnerability, and creativity have a huge impact. The breathtaking power of education ecosystems is that students and staff live, work, and play outside of them. They will always carry the mental health they learned to tend to ever-expanding places beyond the classroom, recess, and school bus. Nothing happens in isolation, and you can help that be an unwavering mental health pillar of your education ecosystem and beyond.