The schools in the NoVA area handle the mental health of their students very poorly. The bureaucrats who run the schools hold depression screenings and events to promote better mental health only as a way of covering their asses if and when something goes wrong. The people who run the schools do not care for the well-being of their students and only see them as a source for their next paycheck. The schools need to make an actual effort to improve the mental health of their students before somebody finally snaps. If depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues stemming from the standards students are held to are not dealt with, it wouldn’t surprise me if one of our schools becomes the next Parkland. The people running these schools need to make some sort of effort to improve or deal with mental health disorders before people start dying, either by suicide or by another teenager wielding a gun

There's a main flaw in how well-meaning, mentally stable people attempt to help those with depression and anxiety issues. They all center their efforts around "you are not alone".

That may be right message for a specific segment of kids - who are struggling to manage socially -- and genuinely feel like they're the only one, and don't have a good perception of the reality of others. But -- newsflash -- that's only a fraction of the various things any given kid might be dealing with.

What if you don't care whether or not you are alone? Or that others deal with the same issues? What if you loathe yourself so much to the point where you just don't know how to function through your day? What if you ruminate constantly on hundreds of things (or one thing) and can't turn your brain off? Well, their response to 'you are not alone' is likely to be "well, that sucks for others -- now how does that help or change what's going on in my mind?" The you are not alone message actually makes them feel more trapped... "man, others feel this way too? Life just must suck.. If this is normal, then no thanks"

What these people need are coping skills and resources. Places to go and not be judged, where they can vent if they choose to. The help they get is usually pretty superficial. Real therapy can be beneficial to everyone who is open to it.

TheDuffelbag Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The schools in the NoVA area handle the mental
> health of their students very poorly. The
> bureaucrats who run the schools hold depression
> screenings and events to promote better mental
> health only as a way of covering their asses if
> and when something goes wrong. The people who run
> the schools do not care for the well-being of
> their students and only see them as a source for
> their next paycheck. The schools need to make an
> actual effort to improve the mental health of
> their students before somebody finally snaps. If
> depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues
> stemming from the standards students are held to
> are not dealt with, it wouldn’t surprise me if
> one of our schools becomes the next Parkland. The
> people running these schools need to make some
> sort of effort to improve or deal with mental
> health disorders before people start dying, either
> by suicide or by another teenager wielding a gun


You write this as if those that run the schools do so with a sense of malice. Schools wish they could provide more extensive counseling and mental health services. The issue, as with most conflicts in the public realm, is money. Teachers have 30 kids per class. Counselors have loads of 250-300 kids. Districts have 180, 000 plus kids in them. It isn't about effort - it's about time and manpower. And all of that costs money.

Someone remind me again- what role do parents play in raising their kids? is the parental role now to tell the schools what to do? Fuckin whiner

What do you mean by "perception of mental health"? Surely you are not suggesting changing how everything is done, impacting the entire student body as well as teachers and administrators, just to make things easier for those with mental health issues. If John or Maria have mental health issues which makes it difficult to handle the stresses of an advanced curriculum, then maybe their parents should put the kids in less demanding classes...or consider private school.