Emotional Grammar

I am not sure what the heck happens to my students between April of their freshman year and April of their sophomore year. They become so emotional and downright negative. When students show me " who they are", I embrace that moment and use it to help them painfully grow. The brain has not finished developing - the part of the brain that is responsible for personality and judgement has not finished the product. I noticed many of our sophomores were on the verge of emotional breakdowns. Many of them stopped turning in work, stopped studying - stopped caring. So I finally asked, " what the heck is going on? ". Within seconds they told me about their truths and their lack of joy. They shared how much they were hurting over the actions of others. Suddenly there were tears and long faces. "Nobody cares Mama D!" They spoke of their awareness of - mean people. They went on and on about what they had no control over. I finally had to stop them. I asked them one question to answer. " do you like the person you are?". They were quiet. The "will" of their thoughts about those around them was creating so many emotions , and in my opinion, they stopped learning and doing for themselves. Emotion is a glue for memory. Once they loose it, they are done. So we shared what they did have control over, themselves. I reminded that they needed to " learn in Present tense" so that they can "remember in future tense.". Same goes for love and joy. I am not sure if they got it. I am not sure if my own son gets it. But I am not givin up on their brains and and their emotional grammar.