Many students can feel all sorts of ways. You never know what the factors are affecting their mental health.
Nowadays, many times it’s almost impossible to tell how a student feels on the inside. Many can feel sad, happy, depressed, and you wouldn’t know. There are many reasons to cause all these emotions, but i’m focusing on how school can affect the mental health of students.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals(NASSP) has an article on the mental health in middle levels and high schools. United States Surgeon General indicates that one in five children and adolescents will face a significant mental health condition during their school years. Mental health disorders can be attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and stress. In many situations mental disorders can lead to suicide. The article claims death by suicide is the third leading cause of death in children ages 10-14 and the second leading cause of death in children ages 15-19. Close to one in five high school students has considered suicide, and 2 to 6 percent of children attempt suicide.
A science teacher at PRHS, Mr. Johnston, has students complete “feeling slips” where students write their name and describe how they’re really feeling on the inside. Mr. Johnston got this idea from one of his past high school teachers, personally it made him feel good. Mr. Johnston stated,”I complete these because over a course of a whole year I feel like I don’t really know my students. It helps me get to know them and teach them better. As someone who has done this before i feel like it helps having an outlet instead of bottling it up. “ These have a great impact on students. Some students come in and they’re less stressed and they’re really appreciative of the cards. Mr. Johnston feels like he appreciates his students way more because he knows what’s really going on in their lives.
He maintains privacy unless someone is getting hurt. A freshman at PRHS, Danny Perez, believes that school affects the mental health of students because students feel like grades reflect their own personal knowledge. Danny stated “It affects my mental health because the way that everyone treats me and teachers teach me, makes me anxious and contained.” Danny compares the positive and impact of school. He claimed,”I feel like school has a positive impact on students, but the people who work at the school and the students that attend the school is what makes school negative because teachers often put their own personal bias than whatever they’re teaching.” School can improve on this by monitoring students and teacher more often.
According to American Bar Association, implicit bias is a problem with students and teachers in our day. Implicit bias influences how we act in a subconscious way, even if we renounce prejudices or stereotypes in our daily lives. Relationships at school exert a powerful influence on student and staff perceptions of each other and on engagement in learning and on outcomes. As a students and staff at Paso Robles High School, we can work on reducing teacher-student bias.
