So love is in the air, and pink and red Valentine's teaching resources are coming out of every crevice of the internet! Although we think of Valentine's as a cutesy holiday and that our hearts and love themed teaching resources are totally adorable, I have to worry - aren't we missing a trick here?
By constantly pushing Valentine's Day at school (on top of all the external exposure students are getting!) are we not subliminally reinforcing the pressure on our youngsters to "have a Valentine" and "find love"? Perhaps you think that notion is a little dramatic or "it's just a few hearts, what's the big deal?". Well, although that might seemingly be true, I work with teens aged 11-18 on a daily basis and let me tell you, the pressure is REAL! This article about reducing your teens stress on Valentine's Day explains it really well!
The fact I hear even the 11 year olds talking about their "boyfriends", "girlfriends", "exes" and "date rejections" on a daily basis speaks volumes: of course, Valentine's Day is not the sole culprit, but this day DOES add extra pressure on our youngsters to feel they have "somebody" on this day. If they don't it can set off a whole self-esteem knock on effect and if they do - well that adds its own pressures and concerns...
The fact I hear even the 11 year olds talking about their "boyfriends", "girlfriends", "exes" and "date rejections" on a daily basis speaks volumes: of course, Valentine's Day is not the sole culprit, but this day DOES add extra pressure on our youngsters to feel they have "somebody" on this day. If they don't it can set off a whole self-esteem knock on effect and if they do - well that adds its own pressures and concerns...
Are we pressuring our students to find romance?
Are we reinforcing the pressure of romance on our students too with all these Valentine's themed lessons? I want to reinforce to mine that they do not NEED to have a relationship at 11 years old (I do use the term "relationship" very loosely as theirs last on average 2 days, hehe, but it can be enough to crush their little hearts and self-esteem.) Sometimes I think they just need to hear another message to counterbalance what is drummed into them by the media...
Now I don't want to be a complete Valentine's Grinch as love is the most important action we can give to another, but I do want to be a good role model for my students and promote positive messages to develop their character. So what I propose we do is instead of focusing on romantic love is to promote friendship love instead! Students can love their friends and that is more than enough - there is no need to feel they need to be in a romantic relationship to celebrate Valentine's Day. I wish that message was broadcast out to the world a bit more strongly too - we might not be able to change the world overnight, but we can start a revolution in our own classrooms!
So, in celebration of friendship love, like this one from myValentine's Quote Colouring pages below, I have some Valentine's Day themed resources in my TpT store that promote friendship on this day instead! Let's get our students focusing on showing love to others such as their friends and family instead of romantic interests. This means EVERYONE can take part and all pressure is eliminated. (Heck, I even include love of pets in one of them!!)
Now I don't want to be a complete Valentine's Grinch as love is the most important action we can give to another, but I do want to be a good role model for my students and promote positive messages to develop their character. So what I propose we do is instead of focusing on romantic love is to promote friendship love instead! Students can love their friends and that is more than enough - there is no need to feel they need to be in a romantic relationship to celebrate Valentine's Day. I wish that message was broadcast out to the world a bit more strongly too - we might not be able to change the world overnight, but we can start a revolution in our own classrooms!
So, in celebration of friendship love, like this one from my
I'm really interested, what are your views on Valentine's Day in the classroom? Do you think we are increasing the pressure on students to find romance by celebrating this day in our lessons? Leave a comment below!
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