High school students are not alright. Over the past years, the quality of high school students\u2019 mental health has plummeted precipitously. Between 2007 and 2016, national adolescent death from suicide rose by 84%. In 2019, approximately one in four female high school students seriously considered attempting suicide. The pandemic and recent political turmoil has only exacerbated these trends in high school students\u2019 mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a major component of teenagers\u2019 lives, school would, ideally, support their mental health. In reality, on a national scale, the pressure and workload from school does the opposite, taking a heavy toll on mental health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Pew Research Center, \u201cWhen it comes to the pressures teens face, academics tops the list: 61% of teens say they feel a lot of pressure to get good grades.\u201d In comparison, approximately 28% of teens feel pressure to \u201clook good\u201d and \u201cfit in socially,\u201d approximately 21% of teens feel pressure to \u201cbe involved in extracurricular activities\u201d and \u201cbe good at sports,\u201d and approximately 5% feel pressure to use drugs or drink alcohol. As seens by these statistics, nationally, academic pressure holds considerable liability for putting stress on teenagers, and consequently undermining their mental health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By no means does this national phenomenon exclude the AJA High School. Senior Ella Goldstein reflected on the student body\u2019s mental health, saying that it \u201cseems like it could use improvement,\u201d but she noted that she believes this to be \u201ca reflection of society as a whole, specifically the pressure society puts on high schoolers, rather than AJA specifically.\u201d Similarly, junior Gaviella Bader said, \u201cI feel like most of the kids here have some issues and just being at school, or the school environment, is making it worse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
High School Counselor Dr. Pam Mason said that the AJA High School thoughtfully tries to manage the stress that accompanies schoolwork. She explained that, officially, no teacher should assign more than 20 minutes of homework for one night for non-AP classes. However, she noted that, in actual practice, a class\u2019s daily homework exceeds this limit more often than not. Yet, Dr. Mason added that she is consistently talking with the administration to work on finding a balanced workload for students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When students received a survey to reflect on how school relates to their mental health, many students mentioned detrimental effects from overwhelming schoolwork. One student anonymously stated, \u201cThe school claims that they care about mental health, but then disregards those claims and gives a tremendous amount of work.\u201d Junior Adam Berkowitz described the workload as <\/strong>\u201cunfair and unreasonable,\u201d as \u201cit can have adverse effects on [our] mental health because of the strain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of pressure from schoolwork, the reality remains that some students will always struggle with their mental health and will need support from the school.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n However, it appears the strain has decreased for some students over the course of the year. Sophomore Shayli Tzionov said, \u201cIn the beginning of the year, everything was very stressful and homework was piled up every day\u2026 I feel like as we get to the end of the school year, there has been less homework given and some teachers have become more understanding.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of whether or not schoolwork causes undue stress, the reality remains that some students will always struggle with their mental health and will need support from the school. AJA places a strong emphasis on providing this support. \u201cOur most important mission \u2014 more than academics or anything \u2014 is student well-being,\u201d Dr. Mason claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the school does focus on mental-health needs, Dr. Mason clarified that \u201cschools are not meant to be places that treat mental health;\u201d rather they should \u201cprovide support for students that are struggling with mental-health concerns.\u201d She expounded on this distinction by explaining that her responsibility is \u201cis to help support the school day. If someone’s really struggling beyond that, it’s not just a school-related issue.\u201d In these cases, Dr. Mason partners with the family or outside specialists to ensure that the student receives the help they need outside the school building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to supporting students\u2019 mental health, Dr. Mason stressed that the student-teacher relationship is a crucial element of the process. \u201cTeachers are the most important ingredient in supporting student mental health,\u201d she said. Dr. Mason tells teachers how to look out for signs that a student may be struggling, such as irregularities in attendance, so that the teachers can help if needed. Teachers should try to communicate with students directly, but if a teacher remains concerned, during a weekly meeting they can work with Dr. Mason to \u201cmake sure that there’s an action item to follow up on any student\u2019s well-being.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shayli stated that she has noticed teachers trying to support their students. \u201cI also feel like you have teachers you can go to when you are not feeling like yourself that day,\u201d she said. She further explained that teachers \u201cwill take their time to get to know each and every one of us so that they won’t feel like such a stranger to us, which I feel like makes us feel a lot more comfortable to open up on some things.\u201d Furthermore, she noted that she has found that teachers will often check in on students when they seem to be struggling. Furthermore, each student has an advisor that they can reach out to if they are struggling in some school-related way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to teachers looking after their students, in order to try and identify the situations in which she can help students, Dr. Mason administers an annual \u201cwellness survey.\u201d The survey asks students to self-report their frequency of \u201cworry\u201d and \u201csadness,\u201d as well as comment on their \u201csense of belonging\u201d and overall \u201cschool satisfaction.\u201d Dr. Mason admitted that not all students will be \u201ccompletely truthful\u201d on the survey, yet she added, \u201ceach time we’ve given [the survey], people did use it as a forum to share.\u201d She explained that if the survey helps even one student speak up, then \u201cit\u2019s a success.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with these systems in place, when asked to reflect on how the High School responds to students\u2019 mental health needs, students feel that the school can do better. Senior Sivan Livnat explained that she feels the school \u201ctries\u201d to support students\u2019 mental health, but sometimes comes up short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many students believe Dr. Mason serves as a helpful resource, yet many also wish she were more available for when they need support. Sivan feels that Dr. Mason \u201ccan be a good resource,\u201d but as a single person, she is \u201cnot enough to support the plethora of mental health struggles that students have.\u201d Sivan explained, \u201cThere is a lot of demand for mental health resources, and I feel like the supply isn’t enough.\u201d Senior Danny Gadelov agreed, saying, \u201cWe cannot, obviously, all rely on one person.\u201d However, it is worth noting that in a school of less than 100 students, the counselor-to-student ratio is much higher than that of most other private schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, Dr. Mason never comes to school on Thursdays, as she has a part-time contract with the school. This can pose problems for students, because, as Sivan noted, \u201cpeople still have mental health struggles on Thursday.\u201d Although she hopes that \u201cstudents feel comfortable going to a teacher or friends if they have a problem,\u201d in certain circumstances Sivan believes \u201cthat’s not enough, and they need professional help.\u201d To account for Dr. Mason\u2019s weekly absence, Sivan proposed the idea that a second counselor comes to school on Thursdays. Regardless, she elaborated, in her opinion the school \u201cshould be better adept at helping students get more professional help.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to supporting students\u2019 mental health, Dr. Mason stressed that the student-teacher relationship is a crucial element of the process.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n While most students find Dr. Mason helpful, other students avoid going to Dr. Mason for support. Sivan explained that occasionally \u201cit’s hard for people to reach out and trust Dr. Mason because they feel that she’s too closely associated with the administration\u2026 people feel like there’s some sort of breach of privacy.\u201d For the students who do feel hesitant to reach out to Dr. Mason, finding other mental-health support in school can become challenging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although students have concerns about reaching out to the school counselor, Dr. Mason stressed that she prioritizes confidentiality. She stated, \u201cI would always keep the child’s information confidential, even if it came in conflict with my administrative role.\u201d Furthermore, as an administrator, Dr. Mason can work to ensure that other administrators hear students\u2019 concerns. \u201cMy primary role here is to be a student advocate,\u201d Dr. Mason said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Dr. Mason believes there is a culture in the school where students believe that speaking up and sharing concerns will not make a difference. Yet, she explained that \u201cif there\u2019s something that’s happening, and I don’t know about it, I literally can’t help.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While learning to ask for help is a crucial skill, senior Yered Wittenberg pointed out that sometimes students \u201cdon\u2019t know how to speak up\u201d or are too \u201cscared to speak up.\u201d He wishes that the school could initiate these conversations and do \u201ca better job at reaching out to kids and preventing the problem before it happens.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, students would like the school to speak more openly and often about mental health. Gavriella said, \u201cI would like school to discuss mental health more openly because I feel like it’s kind of viewed as taboo.\u201d As a result of this, she feels that there is a lack of awareness surrounding mental health, which is \u201cnot conducive to a good environment for learning.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n As of now, the school has some systems in place to spread mental-health awareness. For example, students recently heard from Be Seen & Heard, a body safety and education program. Furthermore, during minimester, Dr. Mason taught a course called \u201cRole Play Being a Psychologist for a Day,\u201d in which students read case studies describing mental health symptoms and accounts of behaviors. Then the group discussed the information and \u201cdiagnosed\u201d the individuals. Dr. Mason also ran a course called \u201cColor Me Calm,\u201d which teaches students different relaxation techniques. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to further increase mental-health awareness, Dr. Mason said, \u201cI would love to\u2026 put together a task force or a committee of students to help me arrange for speakers that are relevant and interesting.\u201d Furthermore, Dr. Mason wants to begin sharing a weekly \u201cwellness tip\u201d with the student body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, the AJA High School does not perfectly respond to students\u2019 mental-health needs; it can even often exacerbate them through overwhelming academic responsibilities. That being said, in a country that is plagued by mental-health concerns \u2014 especially prevalent in high schools\u2014 the AJA High School does put in considerable effort to try and support students. The student body is surrounded by a caring community that creates systems to support them. AJA High school students are not alright, but they are not alone. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mental Health in the AJA High School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":1899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","entry","rows"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/mental-health2.jpg?fit=840%2C560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1897"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1959,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897\/revisions\/1959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}