As a teacher, your official role is formally laid out in front of you. You have a mission statement and a legal commitment to stick with it. All of the rules are spelled out, and your principal will undoubtedly help to remind you on a regular basis. But as any good teacher knows, it’s not just about doing your job according to the letter. Sometimes you have to step outside of the teacher role and also become a mentor, a confidant. Not every student will need this of you, but some of them definitely will. Just think back to your own days in elementary or high school, and you can probably recall times when teachers have gone above and beyond in helping.
If you happen to teach upper-elementary or high school, one problem that many students face in that age range is acne. It might not seem like a big deal to some people, but for those young people a can be traumatic. Acne is incredibly embarrassing and it really comes at a bad time in a young person’s life. This is when they are trying to establish their identity and figuring out their role in the world. It really doesn’t help when they have these hormonal changes that can make them feel like an outcast among people with perfect skin.
As a teacher what can you do? Chances are your students with acne won’t approach you for help directly. They might be too embarrassed or think that you have better things to do. It can also be a delicate subject because you don’t always want to go out to a child and bring up the subject. This can cause an extreme amount of embarrassment, and it might actually turn them away from you. It’s a tricky situation and you have to be incredibly empathetic from the student’s point of view.
The first thing you want to do is educate yourself on acne in general by reading a site like this. You want to turn yourself into a resource that is well educated and informed about the subject. You’re not necessarily going to recommend the best creams or prescribed treatment, but it’s important to understand the basics if you’re going to help in any way. And in delicate situations it’s probably best to approach the parents first to see if there’s anything you can do to help. You can make it clear to them that you understand what their child is going through. You can recommend going to a dermatologist and informing the child and their family what that would entail. In the end, this isn’t the most unusual problem you’ll face as a teacher, but it could be one of the most important if you’re dealing with a child who could potentially develop serious acne.
