Overwhelmed. A state in which many students reach at some point in their career, whether that be in middle school or in college. It is fair to say that a person will reach their breaking point at least once in life but are never taught how to recover from it. Education, the grand central station of learning, does nothing to prepare students for the worst. Instead, it treats kids as numbers, sources of money, and forced memorizers. Mental health challenges that overcome students reflect the constant strain and stress put on children, from a young age, to be absolutely perfect in a world that makes them struggle to thrive. The way the current education system is built, is not to foster healthy minds, but to produce several copies of beaten and bruised minds shoved into a world they were never properly taught how to face.
It is quite easy to see the limited amount of work put in by administrators to protect the fragile brains of the future, that are still in development. Even at Pennsylvania State University, plans were put into place to take away the precious Spring Break students look forward to and replace it with three random days, albeit in the middle of the week, throughout the semester where no classes can be held. Personally, many of my teachers found a loophole and assigned a bunch of work due early in the morning of the day after that so called ‘Wellness Day.’ I was given no time to relax, because I already felt the impending stress waiting for me that next day. When talking to my peers and friends, they sadly felt the same way, wishing for more than a day to find peace within their loud head. Beyond breaks, not much is discussed about a student’s wellness or mental health. Usually, it is the objective of many great teachers, who actually take the time to discuss their students’ mental health with them. A considerable amount of educators attempt to find opportunities to bring up the sensitive issue of mental illness, which inflicts a large portion of world. They invest several moments and hours of their time to help their children prosper, because there are a numerous amount of people who never received that care that could have saved their life. While it is a touchy subject, that mental illness discussion is a very real and needed discussion to have, since it can be a matter of life and death. It could be talking about how to live and deal with anxiety, or how to get help when one cannot help themselves any longer. Luckily, teachers, not administrators or the overarching government that controls educational regulation, stood up for students that need to hear words of support and went ahead to discuss psychological disorders. I’m going to be honest that if I did not have a select few teachers in my life, that impacted me greatly and was there for me to talk to, I might not still be here. Teachers do not get enough credit for all of the work they do, that is not even seen as essential to the people that create the standards and guidelines students must follow to be considered ‘successful.’ It is a shame to live in the year 2021 and not see a change in mental illness education.
Mental health matters, above grades and above assignments. Without a prospering mind, there cannot be a student. It is sickening to see that those who make up important positions in educational regulation still exploit the steadiness of a student’s life to continue an economy that will only serve them, major players in government or administration, never the student breaking their back to aide a world that will rarely give back to them. The time is now to be better for all generations to come, because the mental health discussion has the ability to save the lives of those who do not think they cannot be saved.
https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/importance-mental-health-awareness-schools1810.html
Mental health in schools is incredibly important. Students can often feel like their life course is determined by their performance in school, and when combined with the task of navigating the social environment, this can be a huge source of stress. Many teachers and professors I have had have been concerned about the health of their students and open to discussion, which is an important and welcome gesture. I agree that the taboo surrounding mental health in the sphere of education should be addressed.
I definitely agree that mental health is an important and often overlooked issue in our schools. Students obviously do better if they are in good mental/emotional health, and I also agree that teachers are underappreciated for the work they are already trying to do in regards to this issue. Such a movement needs to be more universal, and there needs to be more recognition of the importance of mental health discussions and education, so students are truly ready to face the real world.
I think all school systems should be working towards having a greater understanding of their student’s mental health. I think for so long it was simply not cared about and therefore not talked about. This just created the opportunity to place more and more responsibilities and obligations onto the students without a second thought. Now as we are in a pandemic the realities of how problematic this system is, is shining through.
Mental health for students is one of those weird issues where it seems like everyone is talking about it and trying to solve it, but it just keeps getting worse and worse. At Penn State, every course syllabus lists resources like CAPS and hotlines, we see social media posts and flyers all the time about taking care of it, and we have dedicated Wellness Days. But like you said, it’s not enough. The entire system of homework, exams, attendance, and GPA is by itself enough to cause depression and anxiety in what I believe to be a majority of students. Not even taking into account other real-world pressures like finances, jobs, home lives, or pandemic isolation, students are more stressed than ever.
Thank you for talking about this issue in this level of detail. I know I’m not alone in feeling like schools and universities across the nation preaching the importance of mental health and then turning around and not practicing that. I certainly feel as though Penn State could be doing so much better than they are. It is incredibly difficult to balance school work when your mental health is on a quick decline, especially during times like these. Great job!
I completely agree with you that mental health should be better prioritized in schools of all levels. In addition to the constant cycle of exams and assignments and the stress and anxiety that coincides with that, I believe the American Education system in general has a huge problem with neglecting the mental health of its students. While high schools and universities preach the importance of taking care of your mental health, I think the way the curriculum is set up, by forcing all students to take ‘core’ classes and meet predetermined educational standards, greatly damages mental health and motivation. To me, and many other people, this forced conformity makes students feel in a way worthless and just another cog in the system. I believe making education more individualized would also help students by making them feel important and like their education is for them, as opposed to being solely for the system. I really enjoyed reading your post!