by Zach Lozevski
Students’ mental health has been an issue that has been widely ignored or disregarded in our modern public school system. These issues still exist with many serious consequences if consistently ignored. I would like to bring up some solutions to students’ mental health. Recently, I conducted a poll on students’ (high school) mental health to see how they were feeling and some of the underlying causes. My poll encompassed a series of questions surrounding the student's current mental state, influencing factors, and how it has changed through time, as well as some constructive feedback for how we as a Greenfield community should address it.
In my findings, most people’s mental health was, unfortunately, average or below. Only 25% reported moderate to high levels of happiness. Another finding was the factor of Covid procedures and distanced learning on students’ mental health. Most students reported their mental health declining because of this pandemic, due to the loss of social contact causing isolation, or loneliness. Some of the largest factors in an account of mental health are the large amounts of work, pressure from parents or family, or low self-esteem/self-confidence issues. Other reported mental health effects, equally significant, included toxic relationships or breakups. Another question was the impact of receiving bad grades, and 65% reported weighing on the negative consequences of their grades constantly.
It is important to remain positive, and some solutions can help students’ mental health in Greenfield. The most common criticism of Greenfield's in respect to students’ mental health was the large homework workload and the lack of communication and feedback regarding mental health. Students are overwhelmed by the pressure from school and family and want to relieve it by a possible mental health day or break. Students would like more attention spent on these issues, as well as communication and education among teachers and students about mental health topics. It is important to remain optimistic and keep going forward in light of this evidence.
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