In My First Year As A Teacher, I Told One Of My Classes that I Wasn't a Happy Person, and Let Me Tell You--They Were Shook.
I don't even remember how it came up. It was a casual conversation during work time. I didn't expect it to be a big deal. I just remember saying something like "I mean, I'm not happy, and I'm doing okay." I'll never forget the look of shock on their faces. "Mr. Howard... you're not?!" The message was, again, supposed to be "I don't think I'm happy, but I'm doing just fine." What they heard was "I'm not happy." Mental health issues seem to be more prevalent than ever for teenagers. Maybe they look up to us thinking that those issues go away when you become an adult and feel like you have more control over your life. Maybe knowing that I was struggling despite having a job that I loved was too much for them. Or maybe they just felt bad for me. But it made me realize that I don't really know how to talk about mental health with students. When someone like Anthony Bourdain commits suicide, it's eart