The Quaran-teens. How are THEY doing?

How are your students, the teens specifically, doing? This is an age that is going through so many hormonal and body changes already that they’re typically all over the place, but how about right now? They feed off of social interaction. Even though the teenage years are not always easy, they are still resilient beings and need interaction. Are they showing up to remote class? Are they checking in with you? Are they keeping up? What are some ways that you’re engaging with your teen students?

The ending of in-person teaching has been a life-altering event for teens. As the closures continue to be extended and planned events become canceled events, teens are likely to be anxious, scared, angry, and sad. They may be unable to process or label these intense emotions.

Friends are hugely important, and they are supposed to be — bonding with peers is one of the essential developmental tasks of adolescents. Not being in school, and in your music classroom right now, is a real frustration. Are there ways that you can encourage them to be creative, interacting, and engaged while you’re trying to keep class going while attempting to connect over class time, practice ideas, quizzes, etc.? Maybe start each class with a joke, or rotate through the class and ask each student to answer an ice breaker: favorite movie, song, YouTube channel, food, sports team, etc. Or maybe have each student ready to share the one thing they’re most looking forward to after quarantine is over.

With younger students, it’s more a matter of finding fun activities that can be educational. But with older students, keeping up and in contact with them can be challenging, especially for those with ADHD, learning disorders, organization issues, or those with an unstable home life. About four in 10 teens (42%) feel "more lonely than usual" right now—a number that is higher among girls than boys (49% vs. 36%)—with nearly the same number of teens saying they feel "about as lonely as usual."

Here are a few ideas to connect with them as you are beginning to wrap up school:

Let Them Talk About Themselves

Maybe for a few minutes it doesn’t need to be about music. What else do they enjoy doing when they are not practicing and playing their instruments? Maybe it’s video games or baking or gardening. Maybe they like building things or love playing sports. Maybe it’s something you’ve never known about them. Give them room to share their feelings and listen without judgment (or without reassuring them that everything will be fine).

Validate Their Disappointment

For many, the most painful part of the coronavirus crisis will be losing important experiences: school sports seasons, dances, theater productions, concerts, and graduations. And while we’re all missing out on very valued experiences, it could especially be difficult for teenagers who are wired to think about activities being limited in this way.

Connect Personally with Them

Send them a personal email, text, or physical card in the mail. Or if they’d agree, even a live phone call! Tell them one thing about them that you have noticed about them specifically or appreciate. * Most teens (83%) are texting to stay in touch, but phone calls are making a surprise comeback as the second most popular means of contact. Social media and video chats are also common; less so are reaching out to a friend or family member they haven't talked to in a while and providing emotional support online to others.

Give Them Something to Look Forward To

Plan a reunion party for when you’re able to meet in person again next school year. Ask them what kind of party they want when you’re all reunited again in the classroom. Create a poll in Google Forms to determine a theme. How about pizza or donuts or ice cream? Or let them do some write-in answers as well to find out what they like and surprise them. Give them something to look forward to doing when they’re back in your class again. Reuniting is going to feel so good.

Yes, sometimes your teen students may be moody adolescents that only want to be on their phones, AirPods in, avoiding eye contact, who would much rather be playing video games for endless hours with their friends. But deep down, just knowing that right now, you’re there for them, and will be waiting for them when school returns, will hopefully be what helps get them through this time. And when school reopens, not only will they be thrilled to be reunited with their friends, but you, their teacher that asked about them, checked in with them, and gave them something to look forward to.