Assisting a Grieving Student

When a student in your class loses someone close to them, such as a close family member or friend, it may be helpful to think about the following issues. While death and grief are difficult topics for anyone to confront, your ability as a teacher to process your feelings about loss and to be a support to the grieving student and your entire classroom can help to facilitate the process for all involved. For more information, look into the cremation services in Mooreland, IN.

If at all possible, contact the bereaved student and his or her family before the student returns to school. To express your condolences and concern, it may be helpful to reach out to the family with a phone call, a condolence card, and, if appropriate, a short home visit. This may assist the student in readjusting when he or she returns to school following the death.

Attend the viewing, funeral, or memorial service for the family member if possible, or send a condolence card to the family. A personal show of support can send an important message to the student and his or her family that there is an understanding of the death and the changes that may occur as a result of it.

Allow the grieving student’s classmates and friends to show their support by sending condolence cards or personal drawings or writings that they can share with the grieving student and his or her family. It is critical to review these items before sending them to the bereaved student or family to ensure appropriate content.

If at all possible, speak to the grieving student’s class about grief and loss, as well as how it looks and feels. Ask the class about their general experiences with loss, what they were like, and how they dealt with it. Discuss how the grieving student might be feeling and how the class can help.

Students should ask the bereaved student what he or she might want or need when they return to school. Grieving students may feel as if they have no control over their situation; having friends ask them what they want or how they want to be treated can feel both supportive and empowering to grieving students.

It is critical to allow the grieving student to decide how he or she will handle his or her return to school after the death. Some students want to inform their classmates about the death themselves, while others prefer that the teacher do so. Ask the student and stay in touch with him or her. Furthermore, the bereaved student may not want to address the death immediately upon returning to school, but he or she may.

Remember that each person’s grief is unique. No two people grieve in the same way. A student’s grief response may be influenced by age, developmental capacity, family system, cultural background, past loss history, and personal coping style. Some people are reserved and quiet, while others are outspoken and angry. Others may swing back and forth between these two extremes. Visit our office or contact us right away if you need help or would like to get more information about our services.  The cremation services in Mooreland, IN are available to discuss this further.