At the moment, most schools in the U.S. are stressful, highly competetive, and do not have the resources and/or are not looking into the mental health of their students. I work at a local youth organization called Youth United for Change who want to change schools in the Philadelphia district, which consists of a large number of black and brown students facing socioeconmic opression and trauma in their homes and communities. What ideas do you guys have , or elements in your schools that help your mental health and alleviate stress? If you have no answer for that, how does your schoool affect your mental health (negatively and positivey)? Please be specific. I appreciate any answers and would be really helpful to our campaign. :)
Khushboo Shah
Jul 21, 2018
Greetings, fellow Ambassadors, As we know, the July 2018 topic for the Roundtable Discussion is Education Funding. I recently came across this extremely informative resource about education funding. The resource explores how funding has changed over time, and provides statistical data in understanding the changes made over the local, state, and federal level in the USA. Article: http://apps.urban.org/features/education-funding-trends/ As mentioned on their website, the data they they collected "measured the progressivity of school funding as the ratio of two weighted averages of each district’s per-student revenue: (1) weights are the number of poor students; and (2) weights are the number of nonpoor students. For example, an estimate of 1.1 would imply that, on average, poor students attend districts that receive 10 percent more in per-student funding than the districts nonpoor students attend. " (source: http://apps.urban.org/features/education-funding-trends/) What do you all feel about this article and the information put forward by them? Ambassadors belonging to other nationalities, how does education funding work in your country? Could you please share your insights, or any other resources or articles you find valuable? Thank you so much for all your inputs!
If you guys need any examples, my research has shown some districts implementing the following:
-Comfort dogs
-Resorative justice implemented
-Stress relieving rooms
-Test days by subjects
-More social workers and psycologists in schools
-Mindfulness somehow implemented into classrooms'
Any ideas appreciated!
Thank you for bringing this question that many people can relate to. Although Mongolian schools and its education system is different from those of the US, I think there are common things about school life, teenage years etc. Although I can not advice or offer any solid solutions for each individual's challenge, I want to say some things that was useful for my school life.
The first, seeing and meeting someone who had similar background, similar dilemma but somehow grown up into successful or delightful adult might give inner fortitude for students in the long run. Weekly mentoring or local inspirational talk, conducted in close, friendly atmosphere could be helpful for students.
The second, building up some skills that might be useful in their life after graduating might contribute students to improve their hope in future. Simply, ranging from basic coding lessons, computer skills to cooking or presentation skills, It can be anything that can taught in systematic yet easy-going way. I think being together in friendly atmosphere with like-minded students is key in here.
Those are what I can think of when I think about my school years. Although things could be so different for us to give any suggestions, I am moved by this topic that reminds me my challenges in my school days that I was keep telling myself that "Уйдаад байвал хичээлээ хий, Айгаад байвал оргилд нь хүртэл яв." which means "When you are bored, learn about useful things, when you are scared go to the summit". All the best for your campaign.
This issue is extremely important to me as well, and I wish there was more mental health awareness in schools. Beyond implementing resources (like psychologists, petting zoos, etc. -- all of which I think are wonderful ideas), I think cultivating a school environment that is conducive to close friendships and mentors would be extremely beneficial. I come from a private school with a religious affiliation, and a lot of time is spent focused on prayer times and small groups where students can get together to spend time to bond and relax. Students also feel more comfortable in openly discussing their mental health issues with their friends and confiding in friends and teachers to ask for help.
In my opinion, creating a culture like this will likely last longer than just hiring more counselors and reforming examination protocol. I think all of those things should be implemented, but we need to seek out a stable, long-term solution as well if we want to focus more on mental health in educational institutions.