2020 EDUCATION MAGAZINE

2020 Education Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS FEBRUARY 20, 2020 Page 5 As a high school teacher for almost 20 years, I watched the progression of my students as many became more and more anxious, depressed and withdrawn because of stress, and I recognized that their stressors were having major impacts on their health. I had this thought: if more young people had an opportunity - a training - to focus on self-care skills, how to handle that stress without turning to substances and unhealthy choices, maybe they would more successfully avoid those unhealthy choices and find more healthy choices as they grow into adults. While studying for certification as a Certified Humor Professional through the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, I wanted to also prepare a product that would incorporate healthy humor as a tool and listened to a speaker at its annual conference discussing the power of grit in success. As I love a great acronym, I wanted something powerful but approachable and decided on G.R.I.T., which stands for Gaining Resilience In Teens. Over the past three years, G.R.I.T. has morphed from an idea into a movement, Teaching students to cope with stress By Jennifer Keith T he American Institute of Stress says stress can be a good thing, creating a fight or flight response or adrenaline for a short period of time, but once the adrenaline wears off, the body’s reaction to stress should return to normal. Unfortunately, nearly 75% of people no longer have the coping skills to avoid what becomes chronic stress, and it becomes a health concern - mentally, emotionally and physically. Continued p