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real, especially with this on top of every- thing else you’re asked to do. The struggle is real.”
Campbell and her husband, Jeff, and their two teenage sons, Wesley (16), and Evan (14) are not in the “at risk” category for COVID-19, but Camp- bell said her parents live close by and they are at risk.
It gave her pause when making the final decision to return to the classroom this fall.
“I accepted that I am going to get sick. It’s probably going to happen,” she said.
During the summer, wrestling with conflict- ing emotions on the ap- proaching school year, Campbell’s decision to keep teaching came down to a couple of realizations.
“I don’t have a Plan B,” she said. “I am someone who needs to be busy.”
The second, and deciding factor was the new class she started teaching this year. While the name of the class is simply General Wellness, its impor- tance is far greater than its name implies. Campbell said the class is to help students cope with anxiety and depression and felt with her study of psy- chology she wanted to participate.
“This new class cinched it for me,” she said.
Campbell developed the curriculum and teachers refer students to the class who they feel might be strug- gling.
Incidents of teenage anxiety, depression and suicide continue to climb, and Campbell said why it is rising is critically important to address, the fact is it is happening, and stu- dents need help coping.
Sitting in her empty classroom, Campbell struggles with her emotions talking about her students who are struggling not only with the reality of an unprecedented school year, but those she hopes to help in her new class.
It is why she is in the classroom.
“I pray really hard that I’ll know what to say. I hope when they come into the class, they see they are here with other kids who are struggling and they won’t feel so alone,” Campbell said. “We’ll see how it goes, but it is heavy. It’s heart- breaking.”