Is a problem shared a problem halved?

 

No. It’s the same problem – but someone else knows about it.

Sharing your problems with others out loud makes them real – it puts them out into the world – rather than purely keeping them in your mind and dealing with them on your own.

 

Just the fact that someone else is aware of your problem often makes you feel better about it. That itself can be the impetus to deal with it or, at the very least, recognise it.

 

The first step on the road to any recovery is to admit the problem – to say it out loud to someone else.

 

Schools across England and Wales are dealing with a widespread mental health problem. School leaders continue to report rises in stress, anxiety and panic attacks amongst their students.

 

If we can support our students to speak to us about their problems, to speak out about the issues they face, to share their anxieties – it can only have a positive impact on education, learning and achievement.

 

Educators are in a better position to support their students if they are aware of the problem that a student is facing.

 

Students are in a better position because they have aired their problem and will feel that someone has taken it seriously.

 

Students who have voiced their problems will no longer be immersed within them when they are sitting in the classroom. They are more likely to be focused. The impact on academic achievement will most likely be marked.

 

Simply put, it costs the same to educate a young person whether they learn anything or not. To have them in a position conducive to learning can only have a positive impact on the student, their peers, the lesson, the class, and the school…

 

Students who cannot talk to others will remain locked in the quagmire of their own thoughts. As a social animal, this is not a good thing.

In 2020 Talk The Talk will continue to work with students across the UK to equip them with the tools in becoming confident communicators for life.