Many students in America and around the world currently have a parent who is serving at war. This is a very stressful event for students of all ages. High school students especially feel much stress when a parent is deployed to war for they are old enough to understand the danger the parent is in and to watch the daily news report of the war on television.
Talk to the Student’s Parent
Talk to the parent of the student who is at home and let them know you are available to talk at anytime about the academic progress of the student. A parent with a spouse at war is very stressed and very concerned about how their children will fare during the time of the deployment. Reach out to parents with a family member in the military. They will be grateful that you care and will appreciate your close attention to their child’s progress during this difficult time for the family.
Alert the Guidance Department
If a student tells you they have a parent deployed at war, alert the Guidance department and ask the student’s guidance counselor to speak to the student regularly. This will give the student an outlet to talk about the difficult feelings they are having such as fear, feeling different from peers who do not have a parent in the military, stress over not knowing when or if the parent will return home from war and other emotions the student may experience. The chats with guidance counselor will let the student know someone is there anytime they need to talk.
Students with a parent at war are in a lot of emotional turmoil. Any bad news report about the war may send them into a panic or into an isolated state where they feel they cannot talk to anyone about their fears.
So be proactive and let guidance know the student may be in crisis at times. Also tell the student you will give them a pass to Guidance department anytime the student needs to talk to someone about their feelings about their parent being away, deployed to war.
Alert the School Psychologist
Teachers should also alert the school psychologist when a student has a parent deployed to war. The school psychologist should meet with the student to help them allay their fears. Also, it is important for the school psychologist to get to know the student now, so if the student experiences a major crisis like the injury or death of the parent at war the school psychologist already knows the student and will be better able to help the student through the crisis situation.
Bring in Articles that are Positive about Possible End to the War
Bring in any articles that discuss the upcoming end of the war or possible troop withdrawal from the war. Ask the student if they would like to read the articles if they are age appropriate for the student. The student may enjoy the feeling of hope that reading of a timeframe for the end of the war may provide.
Make Pamphlets and Books Available to Students
Many social service organizations have pamphlets or books about helping teens or children with a parent at war. Reach out to local social service organizations and try to obtain books or pamphlets created to help children and teenagers in crisis due to a parent’s deployment to war.
Let Student Know You are Available to Talk
When the student informs you their parent is at war let them know you are available to talk if the student wants to share their feelings. High school students are sometimes hesitant to talk to peers about their fears and struggles while a parent is at war. Their family situation makes them feel different and isolated. So be sure to tell the student that they may talk to you at any time if they see you in the Library or around the building.
Get Information from ROTC Officers
If the school has an ROTC office on site you may want to check with them to see if they have any brochures that may be helpful to your students. Also, the ROTC officers have probably been deployed to war at some previous time and could typically give you valuable advice about what to do to help students with parents at war.
