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Jeannie Ritter, Mental Health Ambassador at Metro Health Center of Denver, Former First Lady of Colorado
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Thinking about Becoming a Teacher?
The UNC Center for Urban Education (CUE) is enrolling new students for the spring 2020 semester through December.
Call Dr. Rosanne Fulton, Director, at 303-637-4334 or email her for more information.
Watch our short video to learn more about the CUE teacher-preparation program.
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Living Up to Our Potential to Help Kids Learn
Everyone went to elementary school: you, your plumber, your doctor, your kids’ caregiver, and your city council representatives. Early childhood education impacts everyone, so let’s do it right.
Put the Research to WorkThat’s Jeannie Ritter’s philosophy, anyway. She is currently a Mental Health Advocate at the Mental Health Center of Denver, but she knows the education system. She served kids with special needs as a public school teacher for 10 years after graduating with a teaching degree from the University of Northern Colorado.
Ritter maintains an unfailingly positive attitude about the issues our community faces when it comes to children’s health and learning. She insists that these issues are opportunities rather than challenges. “Everyone wants to lean in,” said Ritter. “There’s not a parent, teacher, bus driver, or principal that doesn’t want to do better."
Ritter continued, "We don’t need any more pilot programs. Research findings are clear. We know what we can do. Let’s get the tools in the hands of every person who serves the children and make it happen.”
"We don't need anymore pilot programs.We know what we can do."
Ritter is the former first lady of Colorado, which gives her a unique perspective on how we can do better in terms of education. She has a few ideas.
At the UNC Center for Urban Education, we are fortunate to partner with community leaders like Jeannie Ritter. She is a strong advocate for our teacher candidates and a relentless supporter of Denver-based organizations that are working toward a healthy community.
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Make the Connection Between Mental and Physical Health“The education system doesn’t need to be all things to all people,” said Ritter, “but we need to recognize that kids’ mental health, physical health, and ability to learn are interdependent.” Access to food, safe play areas, and healthy classroom environments are essential. We also need to make sure we’re addressing two basic needs that we as American adults tend to deny ourselves: enough exercise and plenty of sleep.
Exercise and Sleep: The Healthy Drugs
Teachers can contribute mightily to a healthier community by educating parents and caregivers about the importance of a routine of adequate exercise and sleep for their kids. Since so many kids are home 24/7 right now, it’s the perfect time to work physical activity into the curriculum and homework assignments as frequently as possible. The link between exercise, mental health, physical health, sleep, and learning is undeniable.
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| Children’s Hospital Colorado reported that children who exercise moderately for even 20 minutes a day have higher levels of comprehension and learning ability than kids who don’t. The New York Times reported on several large studies about the effects of exercise on children, one of which concluded that a sedentary lifestyle is twice as likely to lead to mental health problems for children—especially anxiety and depression. Children who exercise moderately for even 20 minutes a day have higher levels of comprehension and learning ability than kids who don’t.
Regular exercise also has positive effects on children’s sleep patterns. Harvard University reported that more exercise, and more vigorous exercise, helps kids sleep better and longer. And just how much sleep kids need to stay healthy might surprise you. For example, children aged 5 to 12 years old should get 10 to 11 hours of sleep a night.
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| Inadequate sleep negatively affects cognitive function and mood, so the cycle is self-evident. Kids who don’t get enough exercise are more prone to have mental health and sleep problems, which leads to ever-poorer brain function and performance in school. This is true if the child is 6 years old or 16 years old.
“It doesn’t feel good to discipline students or ‘manage’ their behaviors all the time,” said Ritter. “Once we know better, we do better. To do better, we take action based on this connection between mental health, physical health, and learning,” she said.
"It doesn’t feel good to discipline students or 'manage” their behaviors all the time."
Dr. Rosanne Fulton, the Director of UNC Center for Urban Education, agrees. “That’s why we teach the value of and need for research-based instructional strategies to all of our teacher candidates here at the Center,” she said. “When they graduate, they’re prepared to include parents and caregivers as an essential part of the learner-centered environment we all create together.”
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Create Equitable OutcomesBecome Aware of Our Own Biases
“We have to understand our own scripts, stories, preconceived ideas, and biases based on our years of living on the planet,” said Ritter. She advises that what we need to do now is understand them and how they play out in the classroom. "You have to ask yourself: 'What's causing me to be defensive? What’s the loop going on in my mind that interferes with me being able to handle these little people in an equitable way?'”
“We all have to understand our own biases based on our years of living on the planet."
The next step is supervised support so that school staff can work through those biases and figure out how to “do better.” Support could be facilitated groups of three or four colleagues talking through solutions in a safe, supportive environment. Or it could mean reading an article that helps the person begin to process and break down some of their patterns, followed by a discussion with a mentor. Principals and administrators have the responsibility to build such mechanisms into each school in ways that work for that particular environment.
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Correct the Mismatch in DemographicsAnother way we can do better is to build a work force that mirrors the demographics of the kids in our classrooms more closely. “The classroom is an intimate environment, five days a week,” said Ritter. “The teachers, principals, and paraprofessionals should share a lived experience with the students as much of the time as possible,” she added.
"The teachers, principals, and paraprofessionals should share a lived experience with the students as much of the time as possible."
That’s where the UNC Center for Urban Education comes in. “You are doing this work at the Center,” said Ritter, “creating a system that cultivates teachers from the population they serve.” In fact, more than 80% of the teacher candidates at the Center grew up in the Denver metro area. And if they didn’t grow up in Denver, they can often relate to the kids who speak English as a second language or come from another country. “Our graduates connect with the students at a deeper level because they share the students’ culture and language,” added Fulton. “They are sensitive to the needs and talents of each student, and they keep honing that sensitivity.”
"Our graduates connect with the students at a deeper level because they share the students’ culture and language."
A shared experience is a shortcut to “getting the work done.” If a student knows that the teacher understands their struggle with reading, their love of race cars, or the benefits and challenges of their family structure, it paves the way to learning. The child feels more accepted and understood and is therefore more open to new experiences and ideas. “They don’t have to be hypervigilant learners, trying to behave and respond in a way that pleases the teacher but doesn’t reflect their own learning style or personality,” said Ritter.
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| “The skills our teacher candidates acquire during their time in their degree program,” said Fulton, “help them build an inclusive classroom,” said Fulton. For example, they learn strategies for culturally responsive teaching and learning in multiple content areas. They also learn how to use 21st-century tools that level the playing field for learners. “We are proud to graduate teachers who are ready to respect and support every child in a way that’s meaningful to them,” said Fulton.
Additional Resources
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| Newsletter Archive
Did you miss previous issues of the Chronicle? Visit the Leadership Council page on our website, scroll down, and click on past newsletters.
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