February 10, 2022

Now more than ever, our students need emotional support from their schools and teachers. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), since the pandemic started, there has been a 31% increase in adolescent suicide attempts (CDC, June 2021). In October of 2021, “the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association declared that the pandemic-related decline in child and adolescent mental health has become a national emergency (Pew, 2021). Sharon Hoover, co-director of the University of Maryland-based National Center for School Mental Health, says, “Nearly every child in the country is suffering to some degree from the psychological effects of the pandemic” (Pew, 2021). 

In my classes, I’m observing anxious and stressed-out students and many of them are on the edge. Though many of my students need more social and emotional help than I can give as a classroom teacher, I know that Mastery Learning is helping students who are struggling through this unique time in our history. It is my contention that if more teachers adopted Mastery Learning, it would have a huge impact on the social and emotional needs of their…