It’s no secret that the mental health of students in education systems across the globe is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Many children face the consequences daily, and the impacts are severe. As someone who has personally experienced these struggles time and time again, I can tell you firsthand that this issue cannot be ignored or brushed aside if we want real change to happen.
Before we move any further, I want to clarify that this article is not centered solely around Warde. “Schools” is a broad term, and for the most part, we are fortunate to attend a facility that prioritizes student well-being. Our principal actively connects with students and fosters a supportive environment. Not everyone is this lucky, and that is why I am writing today.
Disclaimer aside, it is crucial to recognize the sheer number of individuals who suffer, silently or otherwise, from mental health issues in their daily lives. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a Youth Risk Behavior Survey to assess suicide risk indicators and mental health challenges in relation to support from individuals, families, schools, and communities. The results were staggering: 39.7% of high school students reported experiencing “persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness,” while 28.5% stated they had “experienced poor mental health.”
Now, let’s do some math. (Which, I admit, is not my favorite subject.) According to a 2021 U.S. Department of Commerce census report, approximately 17.3 million students were enrolled in high schools across the country. While this data is from 2021, the National Center for Education Statistics reported a 0.7% increase in enrollment from 2021 to 2022. Assuming this rate of increase remained steady over the past three years, we can estimate that in 2023, around 17.54 million students were enrolled in high school. Applying the CDC’s statistics, 39.7% of these students amounts to approximately 6.96 million experiencing persistent sadness and hopelessness, while 28.5% translates to roughly 5 million students struggling with poor mental health.
For those who skimmed through that paragraph (and I don’t blame you), here’s the bottom line:
Nearly 7 million high school students suffer from persistent sadness and hopelessness, while 5 million experience poor mental health.
At what point do we acknowledge that we have a crisis? How many more millions must struggle before we take meaningful action? Schools claim that student mental health is a top priority, and in some cases, that may be true. But perhaps the problem is larger than individual schools. This issue extends beyond one principal, one district, or even one town. Maybe we, as a society, need to take a hard look at the foundations of our education system.
A strong education is undoubtedly important, and academic success requires hard work and perseverance. There is no way around that. However, we must also consider that high school students are still kids. There has to be a way to prepare students for post-secondary education or life after high school without sacrificing their well-being.
Perhaps we need to examine the immense stress caused by the hyper-competitive college admissions process—a system that fuels unhealthy competition among students nationwide, pushing them to constantly do more, be better, and sacrifice their mental health just to have a shot at their future.
If we truly care about students, we cannot continue to ignore the toll this system takes on them. Change is long overdue.