Angela Watson’s Truth for Teachers
Education:Courses
There has been a significant increase in mental health issues among young people in America since 2012, including anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, and suicide. Contrary to popular belief, these trends started before the pandemic, with rates of major depression among teens doubling between 2011 and 2019. Girls and young women are more likely to experience these issues, and the gender gap has been widening.
The introduction of smartphones and social media around 2012 is believed to be a major factor in the decline of mental wellbeing, as it has led to less face-to-face interaction, increased sleep deprivation, and constant exposure to social media.
Dr. Jean Twenge has conducted extensive research in this area. She’s a renowned psychologist and scholar who specializes in generational differences and technology based on a dataset of 39 million people, and has published more than 180 articles and books.
In our conversation, Jean emphasizes the need for conversations about healthy phone and screen habits, as well as the importance of setting clear rules and boundaries for phone use.
We talk extensively about getting student and parent buy-in around Jean’s recommendation that cell phones be banned in school from bell-to-bell, including during lunch time and breaks. Jean asserts that the research supports this policy, and emphasizes that it should be school-wide and not left to individual teachers to enforce.
Despite the challenges, we discuss our hopes for Gen Z and what makes Jean optimistic about the future. She encourages educators to take the mental health crisis seriously and understand that it is not just our perception or feeling that something is wrong.
Her challenge is for educators to help students understand the love-hate relationship they have with their phones, and provide structure and clear rules to help them navigate technology in a healthy way.
Click here to read the transcript and participate in the discussion.
Introducing NEW Truth for Teachers playlists!
EP262 The 3 day weekend mindset
EP261 The Swiss Cheese Model: letting go of “all or nothing” thinking
EP260 Three ways to create teaching templates that will save you 5-10 hours a week (with Marguerite Rendelfs)
EP259 Set a target number of hours to work...and stick to it
Burnout, work/life balance, and supporting teachers (with Lisa Woodruff of Organize 365)
"Nothing short of a revolution": What's happening in the 40 Hour programs
EP258 Envisioning what’s next for schools: my personal reflections & hope for the future
EP257 How to work ONLY your contractual hours as a teacher (with Samantha Smith)
EP256 Four teachers' small changes that made BIG reductions in their workload
EP255 Student behavior, grace, & consequences in the final weeks of school (with Amy Stohs)
EP254 An instant way to have fewer assignments to grade
EP253 Is teaching still the right career for you? (with Daphne Gomez)
EP252 Three practices for more one-on-one time with students (with Kareem Farah of The Modern Classrooms Project)
EP251 Empathy fatigue is real. How can educators push through the exhaustion? (with Kyle Cohen)
EP250 Peek inside one teacher's lesson planning process—and how she streamlines to stay ahead (with Megan Faherty)
EP249 What if we stop moving goal posts, and enjoy where we're at?
EP248 Uncovering the hidden clutter in your curriculum (with Sally Berquist)
EP247 Are the kids alright? A deep dive into the pandemic's toll on students (with Jessica Kirkland)
EP246 A more intuitive approach to tiered and differentiated instruction (with Tia Butts)
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