29-Jan-2025

Lately, I’ve been researching policies regarding mental health in our state. I notice that mental health challenges are only getting worse in our communities, especially for teens and high school students like me. Aside from merely gathering information online, I decided to talk to a couple of my friends from school, asking what their input is on mental health in our school. One person said, “They think they care about our mental health, but they don’t. By treating us like trash when we do something wrong and screaming at us for things that are natural for us doesn’t help because they don’t know who’s going through stuff”. I asked her if she had witnessed any such scenario, and she added, “Well once, a teacher was mad at us for a trivial matter, and he screamed and threw a binder across the room. Even though I don’t suffer from any issues, some people could have ptsd/trauma that can be triggered when someone raises their voice, or something “violent” happens.” Many teachers don’t seem to realize that their actions could severely affect someone’s mental health. Additionally, schools have posters and advertise things that involve the value of students’ mental health, but many don’t take action or use these ideas to make students feel heard. If a student is suffering from something, they are usually advised to see a counselor. This can help in some scenarios, but only if the adult in the situation actually puts in the work. One of my friends said, “I was sent to them in my freshman year twice and (I think) once my sophomore year. I remember how they did try to hear my mental struggles, but through enough meetings they just stopped calling me out of class. I feel like in our current school system we can benefit from either a professional or the counselors actually caring, and not just calling a student to their office multiple times and signing forms just for the school to not be blamed for worsening situations. The teacher who reported me cared more than the counselors ever did”. 

The bottom line is, schools need to take a better initiative and actually value the students’ mental health instead of simply saying they do. Actions speak volumes louder than words, and it’s time that schools take action to better themselves and live up to their words.