Mental health hasn’t always been a priority among students compared to physical health. In reality, it is just as important. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in six youth in America from ages 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year. Half of all mental health conditions start by age 14. The most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children are ADHD, anxiety, behavior problems, and depression. When mental illnesses become undiagnosed or untreated, they can significantly interfere with a student’s ability to learn.
CMS’s approach to mental health education in school is in the form of Social Emotional Learning, or shortened to SEL. “Social and emotional learning is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions,” says the CMS website. There are essentially five pillars of SEL, Self-Awareness,”knowledge of emotions, thoughts and their impact on behaviors; cognizance of strengths and weaknesses, Self-Management- “regulation of emotions, behaviors, and thoughts across circumstances,” Responsible Decision Making- “ability to make positive decisions about behaviors and socialization based on ethics, values, norms,” Relationship Skills- “ability to establish and maintain diverse, healthy relationships,” and Social Awareness- “empathy for others; appreciating,” from the CMS website.
The many benefits of the SEL Instruction include an increase in students’ performance academically by 11 percentile points, a 50% increase in the likelihood of graduating high school, a doubled chance in the likelihood of earning a college degree, and an improved positive attitude toward peers and self, as well as reduced aggression and emotional distress.
School and its environment offer an opportunity to spot these mental health illnesses and work towards prevention and intervention where they already are. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, in an educational setting, students are almost as likely to receive resources and support for mental health as they are to receive speciality treatment from a mental health provider. In a recent study in 2019, 15% of youth between the ages of 12 and 17 were found receiving mental health services at school, compared to 17% who saw specialty health providers. On the flip side of these statistics, educational systems often lack the resources to deal with the issue accurately. More often than not, these counselors and other staff individuals are drowning in huge caseloads where kids fall through the cracks.
One of the most important aspects of tackling the effects of mental health illnesses is understanding these are common problems and usually begin during childhood and adolescence. On the positive side, these illnesses are treatable through different techniques to not hinder students’ academic understanding. Taken from the Association for Children’s Mental Health, “early detection and intervention strategies work. They can help improve resilience and the ability to succeed in school and life.”
Classroom learning and social interactions can be affected by mental health disorders, both of which are crucial to students’ success. According to the Association for Children’s Mental Health, if appropriate aid is put into place to support students’ mental health needs, schools can maximize the success and minimize the negative impacts on youth. When choosing between the various types of support and services to put in place, it is critical to understand that all learners come with unique and different coping mechanisms and needs. Mental health interventions brought on by schools need to be situated based on the individual needs of each youth and be flexible enough to accommodate more or less support as needed. The Social and Emotional Learning portion of CMS’s curriculum aims to achieve those goals and help support all students in need.