Stigma Of Education

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“Students’ academic success is a determining factor in successful accomplishment of life tasks and depends greatly on the students’ psychological health as well as academic abilities” (Vanderbleek, L. M. 2004). Mental health has always had a bad stigma around it and students’ education on it can change that stigma, learning why it matters, the behavior problems it causes, how it can affect people later on in life, the solutions, and how it could be a bad idea. Schools should be more involved in the serious issue of their students’ mental health and spend time addressing the problem.
The first step in helping students’ mental health is understanding why education and the ability to diagnose mental health problems matters. According to Vanderbleek,
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The increasing rate of diagnosable mental health problems among adolescents is recognized by the government so much so that they have set a mandate for schools that many schools ignore. “1 in 5 children and youth have a diagnosable emotional, behavioral or mental health disorder and 1 in 10 young people have a mental health challenge that is severe enough to impair how they function at home, school or in the community” (Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O). These numbers suggest that there is a large enough need for education and support programs for students in schools. Schools are meant to prepare students for the future and despite what many may believe, mental health is an important aspect of one’s life no matter how old you are. Students spend up to 8+ hours a day at school, which means for most students they are spending more time at school than at …show more content…
What can we do to help these students struggling mentally? The solution starts at home, many teenagers, as well as younger kids, don’t get the proper amount of sleep they need. The amount that is recommended for all adolescents is at least 8-9 hours of sleep, but studies show students are getting much less than this. Lack of sleep tends to affect the students learning process as well as their mental health (Flanagan, L. 2015). Another key part to sound mental health is also staying physically healthy. While most schools offer physical education classes many of these classes are daily classes and or do not incorporate the right kind of fitness, a lot of which focus around certain skills and competition. Though these classes still play a helping hand in children's development, they still don’t target a solution to the problem in many kids lives. “Aerobic exercise is good for mental health; it reduces stress, improves attention and buoys the mood. But as school budgets have grown tighter, schools are dropping gym class and recess for more time in the classroom. This trend undermines student well-being and achievement” (Flanagan, L. 2015). When kids are forced to sit in a class for 8 hours a day problems start to arise, but by taking quick “energy breaks” which focus on aerobic exercise can help decrease behavioral problems in the classroom as well as benefit their mental health. With all of these