HELPING TEACHERS APPRECIATE EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN
HESS FARMER 1, and
WILLIAM B. ROSSMAN M. D.2
1 Public School Consultant for Mental Hygiene, Welch, W. Va.
2 Part-time Director, Bureau of Mental Hygiene, State Department of Health, Charleston, W. Va.
Experiences in teaching the Bullis course, "Human Relations in the Classroom," are cited. The background and methods are described. Attention is paid to teacher orientation and teacher attitudes as well as to over-all psychological conceptions. Analysis of reactions of teachers to the workshop course is given in verbatim account from representative samples. Emphasis is given to the fact that teachers are not therapists in the psychiatric sense, nor should they be expected to do therapy. The classroom with its teacher, though, is an ideal setting for the development of sound mental health principles. Finally, a unified approach including the pupil, his teacher, the school authorities, and the parents warrants serious consideration.
