Obviously, in this chaotic time right now, it will be tough to return to normalcy as students are restricted to learning and studying at their homes. From what I have heard, most high schools have been offering optional online work. To all high school students, I encourage you to take full advantage of this option. At this point, the end of self-quarantining is nowhere in sight. If things at home are not too hectic for you, please use the learning guides that your teachers send out to you. When the return does come, you’ll be all caught up and will not have to cram your studies at the end of the year. Also, by doing this you’ll keep your brain sharp and will not be as bored.

Now for us Penn State students (and possibly others at other universities), there has been a change to the grading system for this semester. The new system will allow each student to choose at the end of the semester to either keep the final letter grade or replace it with a satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Thus, permitting students to practically manipulate their GPA. This is somewhat controversial but there aren’t any other better options.

This was put in place because most students will not be able to achieve the same grade they would have if they were at campus. This will also result in less pressure for us scholars. It is important to continue the semester with less stress, however, that does not mean to lift your foot off of the pedal. Many students will certainly slack off, knowing that a lower grade will not affect their GPA. Be sure that you take the other route. Still pursue your coursework and assignments with strong determination and perseverance. Just keep in mind that the more credits you factor into your overall GPA, the less it will fluctuate. Make your hard work over the past 16 weeks even more meaningful.

For those students though who find it tough to concentrate on schoolwork due to distractions at home and other issues, be sure to take advantage of the new grading system. Give yourself an honest effort and try your best but don’t push yourself to the brink of misery. The reason for the new grading policy is to avoid just that.

I hope from this pandemic all students will come to recognize what is truly important. At the end of the day, health and safety come first. Keeping this in mind, never dwell on a bad grade, you are alive, and you worked hard to be in the position you are in today. I promise that everything will be okay.

It is most important during this time in our lives to not panic. We are in the middle of a crisis, but this will not last forever. As a student there are clearly many things that could be racing through your mind during the next several weeks. However, it is critical to take things one day at a time and not look far into the future. Spend your energy on taking care of your priorities and your loved ones.

For students who are taking online courses, it is highly recommended by several health departments to take frequent breaks during the day. It is not mentally healthy to be staring at screens all day. This can potentially strain eyes, induce headaches, and increase tiredness levels.

Another tip that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are advising students to do is to treat the body well. A way to dig oneself out of this depressing time is to eat healthy, well balanced meals, and exercise regularly.

The CDC also says to allocate times of the day dedicated for free time. While it is important to stay on top of school work, be sure to engage in activities that you find enjoyable. Other than family, it is also crucial to be in contact with close friends, whether this be through texting, calls, or facetime.

For all classwork, online classes are all about time management. A lot of your success for these courses will depend on how well you manage your time. It really helps to watch the lectures during the same time that the class would meet on campus. Do not just wait for the recording of the lecture to be posted later in the day. Wake up when you would normally wake up during the semester. This will allow you to have more time in the day to finish work on time and will result in more hours of sleep.

If you can’t find a quiet place in your house, be sure to access the local library or common area near you (be mindful though not to gather in large groups). Also, still be sure to participate during online class time. Asking questions will benefit yourself and many other members who also need the help. Do not hold back any comments or questions that you have for the professor. Lastly, do as best as you can to learn some of the course material on your own. Take full advantage of textbooks and give yourself the best advantage to succeed on the online system.

You are not alone. Were all in this together!

“COVID-19 (‘Coronavirus’) Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel.” COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel | U.S. Department of Education, 2020, www.ed.gov/coronavirus.

“Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 Mar. 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html.

No one ever would have predicted the country to be in this situation, let alone the world. It was clear that returning to schools would be unlikely but on this scale is absolutely insane. Practically every school across the map is locked down until most likely a vaccination for the virus is discovered. Even then it is unlikely that large schools like ours will bring back its students.

It all started when Ohio State University moved classes to online. When it was announced that a Big Ten school took the initiative, it was inevitable that most schools across the nation would follow. To my surprise it seems that professors have been able to respond quickly and have been doing a great job working hard to transition online. There’s obviously a lot of kinks that will need to be worked out, but the educational system has shown to defend itself against the virus. It goes to show how important knowledge is to the people.

However, with this new online system in place for schools and universities, the amount of stress and pressure put on everyone has skyrocketed. Students, professors, parents, and workers have all reported feeling high levels of stress with everything happening. The stock markets plummeting, the grocery shelves being empty, the social distancing and much more has caused mass panic in the states.

With all of these things happening, including the load of school work, many students report that that they feel fear and worry about the health of loved ones, are having difficulty sleeping and concentrating, and many students say they are experiencing changes in eating patterns.

These issues that students of all ages are experiencing may cause a significant decrease in grades. These problems are becoming more important priorities for kids to fix, which may lead to students putting less emphasis on their education. Online courses also report to show that students are less motivated to attend courses as many know that attendance will most likely not be counted. And for those who do attend online lectures, many have said that they are experiencing lagging, constant cut in audio, and many other difficulties – this issue seemed inevitable but hopefully overtime the quality will become better. A last issue that scholars are facing with the online educational system is the ability to get questions answered. Many students said that they are worried they will struggle with course material because it will be difficult to get their questions answered.

This is no doubt a stressful time for all people. For the students out there, I will talk about in my next blog what is recommended for you to get through this difficult time and how to succeed with online classes.

“Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 Mar. 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html.

In this blog I will talk about some of the strategies that schools have been implementing to reduce stress for their students. Schools all over the country are obviously experiencing the same problems of academic-induced stress. So, the examples I will list come from many different schools. One of them being at Lexington high school in Massachusetts. The school decided to respond immediately following a suicide. The superintendent of the school, Mary Czajkowski, decided to change the cultural mindset of her students. Understanding that Lexington high school is just ten miles from Harvard and MIT, Czajkowski wanted to implement a workshop that helps students cope with the pressure of admission. The school gathered the students with their parents and taught relaxation techniques. The school provided knowledge about mental health issues. Lastly, Lexington high school also eliminated class rankings. They did this to de-emphasize academic competition between classmates (Kominiak). Another school that emphasizes the importance of mental health is Roosevelt high school in Seattle.

At Roosevelt high school, the teaching staff is now trained to educate students on living in the moment. Twenty minutes a day for every day of school, free time is allocated just for students. During this time students can work on homework, reach out to teachers for academic assistance, and simply sleep/relax. Also, every Thursday the teachers are required to use the twenty minutes to educate their students on “mindfulness.” The idea is for students to become aware of their own feelings and thoughts in a given moment. The school hopes that students think about other things besides academics and will enjoy their experiences at school more. Teachers at the school have already reported that they see their students act more calmly and friendly with one another (Kominiak). The overall vibe at the school appears to have become more relaxed. A last tactic I will talk about is the very unique program that a high school in downtown Houston has adopted.

Before retiring, Superintendent Terry Grier added a special program at his school for his students. He has started yoga sessions during the school day. At these sessions, the instructor emphasizes the importance of deep breathing and clearing the mind. This program transformed from one school in Houston to over twenty-six different campuses. Over fourteen thousand students participate in the yoga classes (Kominiak). It clearly seems that yoga can be a great method for some students to alleviate the pressure they feel from school.          

With the issue of school stress reaching the national scale, it’s important for schools to find creative ways to encourage students to be more relaxed and less stressed. Hopefully other schools adopt these ideas too.

Kominiak, Todd. “Stress Relief: Schools Get Creative to Reduce Student Anxiety.” Trusted, 22. May 2018, www.k12insight.com/trusted/stress-relief-schools-get-creative-to-reduce-   student-anxiety/.

A major concern that the suicide prevention organizations are looking at is the LGBTQ community. Most schools now have an open LGBTQ club. An unsettling fact is that of scholars across the United States, those that identify themselves as part of the LGBTQ community face the highest risk of committing suicide. The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey gathered data displaying that “40 percent of high school students who identify as ‘gay, lesbian or bisexual or questioning, — were seriously considering suicide (Walker).’” The same survey shows us that students who identify as transgender are just as vulnerable to the same risk factors. There can be several reasons that contribute to this.

From the school perspective, bullies are obviously a huge cause to another student’s depression. No matter what school you go to, it seems inevitable for bullies to exist. Bullies continue to make students feel insecure and ashamed of themselves, which leads to suicidal thoughts. For bullies, many find the LGBTQ community as an easy target. Schools must do more to crack down on this issue. A possible way to reduce the number of bullies is by making stricter consequences for their behavior. Rather than a typical stern talking to by the principal, maybe a couple day suspension right off the bat will send a proper message to the aggressor. I strongly believe in immediate second chances and warnings, however, since the result of bullying can potentially result in the death of a victim, a lesson must be learned immediately. If a few days suspension from school is the way to do it – then by all means make suspension the answer because suicide must be taken seriously. The decision is of course at the digression of the school administrators. Besides bullying though, there is another reason that may explain the very high suicide rate of the LGBTQ community; that would be the student’s relationship with their guardian(s).

Kathy Reamy, school counselor at La Plata High School in southern Maryland and chair of the NEA School Counselor Caucus, stated that the majority of LGBTQ students fear that they will disappoint their parents. Some even say that there is a possibility that they would be kicked out of the house or shamed for the rest of their life by their parents (Walker). Not only many students consider school to be a pressure cooker for them with the bullying they face, but they also feel the pressure from their own home – a place that should be a safe spot. For students who face this horrible problem, the least we can do as students is work hard to protect our school from hatred. It is our job as scholars to make the place of education homely for all.

Walker, Tim, et al. “As Teen Suicide Rate Increases, States Look to Schools to Address Crisis.” NEA Today, National Education Association , 27 Jan. 2020, neatoday.org/2018/05/14/teen-suicide-prevention/.

Stress within the American school system is not a new thing. However, it has clearly been becoming much more common and severe for a large portion of U.S. students. There are many reasons why school can give us stress. The leading cause is homework. One mandatory survey that was taken at many schools produced information stating how homework is the leading cause of a student’s stress. Nearly 25 percent of the participants claimed this. For the same poll, just under half claimed that they feel school pressures daily (Stress in America). Not all of these pressures are academic related as well.

There is also the social aspect to school. Many students encounter social situations that they dread living through. This can be anything from an awkward encounter in the hallway to not being able to find a place to sit for lunch. The social aspect of school can be very draining for students as it can be a big distractor from academic studies. Friends also appear to be a major stress inducer. For many, friends are their favorite aspect of school, but they are also a big source of stress. Interpersonal conflicts between close friends, worries about not having too many, comparing oneself to them, and peer pressure are several of the common negatives that friends provide for some people. Even the most secure people can get in their own head and fall into a stress trap (Scott). Dealing with these issues on top of school work is extremely difficult and draining. Students who struggle with these types of social problems at school must use this opportunity for growth. Some of these situations are just part of life and we must learn how to behave differently next time these situations occur. Another problem that students are dealing with is their schedules.

The school system is becoming crazy competitive. To keep up with the high achieving students, many scholars attempt to stand out by becoming involved in an excessive number of clubs. Participating in a club or two is highly recommended as this can help alleviate pressure from school. However, in an effort to gain an edge by joining too many clubs has proven to cause stress to skyrocket. When a student overcommits, sleep time goes down, tiredness goes up, and grades tend to go down due to less time allocated for studying. A perfect balance is what’s best.

It is proven that the involvement of at least 1club/sport will improve a student’s well-being and even his/her grades (Stress in America). However, overcommitting is just asking for a future breakdown. When it comes to school stress, some factors you can control. Ensure you don’t overdo yourself.

Scott, Elizabeth. “Why Do Children Get So Stressed With School?” Verywell Family, Verywell Family, 24 Oct. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/social-causes-of-school-anxiety- 3145171.

“Stress in America.” Snapshots of Stress in America, American Psychological Association , 2009, www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2009/stress-exec-summary.pdf.

After a tragic school related suicide, the same question always comes up – “Why didn’t someone do something,” or “What could have we done to help.” Well, many schools have come to realize that the problem must be tackled at the source. That would be at schools themselves. When students would find themselves stressed out or depressed, one of the only options available to them for help at the school would be their guidance counselor. Guidance counselors are trained and supposed to help students cope with suicidal thoughts. However, the problem with this is that usually the student is the one that must reach out to the guidance counselor to set up an appointment. This is a major issue in the American education system because as we have seen in the past, many scholars who have fallen to suicide never bother looking for help. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily the counselor’s job to wander the halls or search classrooms for students who may be depressed. Guidance counselors and school administration have priorities to complete, causing many of them to rarely think twice about the well-being of the students who they see daily.

This is why the best source for students coping with stress and depression are fellow classmates. Students themselves are one of the best sources of help. It is the students that are constantly surrounded by their fellow classmates every day. Students have the best chance at observing the actions of others and picking up on signs that can represent depression because students interact with each other all day long.

This is why the idea of Aevidum has been spreading and must continue to do so. Latin for “I’ve got your back,” the idea of Aevidum was created at a high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania after a student died by suicide in 2003. The organization is student run and the members are students who work to seek out fellow classmates that seem depressed and stressed. A student helping another student is the best way to resolve this issue because students can relate to each other better than a student and a guidance counselor. Aevidum has been slowly expanding to school campuses all over the country and that number has been bigger than ever. The nonprofit organization has expanded to over 150 schools. This is great but this number must increase. Many students have joined Aevidum and all of them are trained to pick up on signs that may show a student is depressed. Some of them would include, reckless behavior without thinking, rage/uncontrolled anger, increased alcohol/drug use, and giving away prized possessions. Schools become a much safer place when its students are equipped with the skills to identify ones that are in need of attention. More schools must adopt Aevidum as soon as possible because students can be of better help than typical guidance counselors.

The entire country becomes extremely horrified, frightened, and shocked every time the news reports another school shooting in the United States. Most other developed countries around the world have been taking action on trying to solve the issue. America still has a lot of work to do as far as coming up with essential laws, programs, or strategies to successfully decrease the number of lives being lost from school shootings. Unfortunately, school shootings have been increasing every year. Another school-related tragedy that has been increasing every year is the student suicide rate.

The higher the education level, the higher the number of scholars taking their own lives. Suicide is responsible for taking many lives as it is the third leading cause of death among school kids over the age of ten. Everyone knows (at least all scholars and former students) that the educational system (at any level) can be extremely stressful for students. A mental health facility in Connecticut released data displaying the relationship between emergency mental health visits and the time of the school year. As expected, the number of pediatric mental health visits was relatively lower during the summer, but during the months where school was in full swing, the number was more than doubled. The data also captured that not only the summer had half as many visits, but even weeks given off to students during the school year were halved as well. The same Connecticut study found that there has been an increase by nearly 300% from just 2008 to 2015 in the number of students being hospitalized for suicidal attempts. To continue on, the American Psychological Association announced that teenagers are the most stressed people in the country. The APA claims that 83 percent of American teens find their anxiousness being caused by school (Peter).

I could ramble on and on about the harrowing statistics surrounding the correlation of suicide and the educational system. The big thing is how can we solve this problem. Well, the good news is that more and more programs are becoming available for students across all American campuses. Many organizations including the U.S. Government are taking strong action by funding programs such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. However, even though many programs have become available for students, many who need the help do not reach out for it. Fellow classmates and students must always be aware of others and be willing to check in on friends to simply see how they are doing.The help available is great but it is useless if the ones in trouble aren’t using it. The bottom is line is that the highly demanding and competitive educational system in the U.S. leads to depression among students.

Gray, Peter. Children’s & Teens’ Suicides Related to the School Calendar. Psychology Today, 31 May   2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201805/children-s-teens- suicides-related-the-school-calendar. Accessed Jan. 14^th, 2019.