Back to the Classroom: A Game Plan for Reducing Anxiety

“When I come back in from recess I’m hot, I’m sweaty, I’m running out of breath. I’m like, I could just take off the mask for a minute. Everybody else does it.”

Nine-year-old Parker Holifield’s frustration is echoed by students across Kentucky as they return to school amid coronavirus restrictions. The playgrounds and classrooms are the same, but life inside them is very different.

“Before, you could play with anyone you wanted to. But now I can only play with my class,” Parker said. The Lexington fourth-grader regularly hears complaints from classmates about social distancing and masks.

Parker’s parents, Spencer and Tamika Holifield, had mixed emotions about their son and 12-year-old daughter, Kendall, returning to in-person classes in August. During the last year they witnessed “the pressure and stress” of online learning and isolation. But they were also deeply concerned about sending Parker and Kendall back to school while COVID Delta infections were rising.

Anthious Boone, an elementary school principal in Pennsylvania, identifies mask-wearing and learning how to socialize again with peers as among a host of challenges facing children returning to in-person learning.

“As parents endeavor to help their children cope with potential back-to-school anxiety,” Boone said, “it is absolutely imperative that they stay well-connected with both the school and their children.”

The Holifields, who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, believe that having regular discussions and using videos, songs and articles on the website jw.org have allowed them to do just that. One song in particular, “Listen, Obey, and Be Blessed,” said Tamika “calms [the kids] down immediately,” helping them to see the benefits of obedience during a difficult time.

While health and safety are of prime concern, the Holifields have been mindful of other difficulties their children face. In August, Kendall entered seventh grade in a new school and observed how students can be “mean to each other.” Her parents have used videos such as “What’s a Real Friend?” and “Beat a Bully Without Using Your Fists” from jw.org to equip Kendall with practical suggestions and scriptural principles for getting along with schoolmates. And they’ve helped Parker to see that wearing his mask is both a protection and a kindness.

The lesson seems to have stuck.

After acknowledging how nice it would be to remove that mask after recess, Parker reflected: "Then I’m like, What if I get sick? Then I could get Kendall sick, I could get Mom and Dad sick, and they could spread it to other people. I don’t want that to happen.”

The Holifields are reassured to see Kendall and Parker meeting the challenge of returning to in-person learning. Working in harmony with Bible principles, said Spencer, “has brought us peace of mind. While we still worry about the effects of the pandemic, it doesn’t consume us.”