For students stress can come from academics, extracurricular activities, relationships, and responsibilities outside of school. A bad grade, a missing assignment, or a big test can affect more than a student’s GPA. Unfortunately for most students stress and anxiety has become a regular at school.
Understanding this issue is more than looking at a student’s grades and attendance. Seeing the same students every day gives teachers an advantage in spotting students’ mental health challenges. While teachers are not responsible for diagnosing children they are more than capable of supporting them.
Social studies teacher and varsity softball coach Sarah Davies talks about how she and other teachers can make students comfortable asking for help.
“I always make sure lines of communication are open, I talk to students about when they can come talk to me, I also make sure they know it’s a safe environment, and build a strong relationship from the beginning” Davies said.
At school struggles may not always be obvious. The pressure to succeed academically and socially can make students hesitant to ask for help. Students’ days may be filled with school, a job, family responsibilities, sports, clubs, and a social life leaving little to no time to recover from stress.
Being a teenager is stressful and there’s a lot of pressure put on students to succeed. The thought that one test, one assignment, or one grade, could determine their future is stressful enough with support. But when you accompany that with a lack of support and understanding from adults around you, school quickly becomes impossible.
Junior Carly Vieira talks about how teachers can help students feel less stressed when the workload gets heavy.
“I think teachers can be more understanding when kids don’t turn in work, maybe listen and hear their students out and try to help them when they’re struggling,” Vieira said.
Teachers can create an environment where asking for support feels more normal. Checking in with students, listening to their concerns and recognizing when a student needs additional help are ways teachers can become a part of a support system.
However, teachers cannot address a mental health crisis by themselves. Counselors and other school staff can provide additional support and help students find resources based on their individual needs.
There are many resources available at East to help students with stress and other mental health challenges.
Assistant director of student services and counselor Melissa Gleason talks about the resources given to students at East to help with mental health.
“Down in student services we have 10 counselors, seven social workers, a mental health interventionalist, and three School psychologists’’ Gleason said.
Addressing student mental health requires involvement for more than one person. Students, teachers, counselors, families, and other members of the school and community can each play a role in making sure students have somewhere to turn when they’re struggling.
For students facing mental health challenges, support can be something as simple as recognizing that they do not have to handle everything alone. At East teachers and counselors can help connect students with people who have resources available to support them
Written by junior Abby Messerges. Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.