How Can We Improve School-Based Mental Health Support? | Jordan Wells | TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet

Summary

The speaker candidly shares their journey from emotional suppression to advocacy, highlighting the pivotal role of a supportive fifth-grade teacher. They recount initiating a research project on mental health in schools, which evolved into a personal mission. The talk emphasizes the systemic neglect of mental health in education, proposing practical solutions like check-in checklists and zoning regulations. The speaker challenges societal discomfort with emotions, arguing for their acceptance as a strength, and calls for a paradigm shift in schools to prepare students for life, not just academic success.

Takeaways

• 😟 The speaker admits to being nervous and historically not comfortable expressing emotions.
• 🏠 Growing up without a father had a significant impact on the speaker's life.
• 🌟 A fifth-grade teacher provided emotional support and was a pivotal figure for the speaker.
• 🏫 The speaker's research project on mental health in schools became deeply personal and transformative.
• 🔍 The project revealed issues like lack of funding, knowledge, and student discomfort as barriers to mental health support.
• 📝 Simple solutions like check-in checklists and zoning regulations were proposed to improve mental health awareness.
• 🗣️ The speaker advocated for emotional expression and mental health to be taken seriously in schools.
• 🌐 The realization that the issue extends beyond one school to the broader education system and society.
• 💡 A psychologist's quote, 'Emotion is a strength,' resonated with the speaker and motivated advocacy.
• 🔄 The speaker criticizes the traditional school model for not preparing students emotionally for life.
• 🌍 The speaker envisions a world where emotional expression is encouraged and seen as a strength.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial attitude towards expressing emotions?

The speaker initially was not comfortable expressing emotions, as it was not a natural thing to do in their family.

How did the speaker's fifth-grade teacher impact their life?

The speaker's fifth-grade teacher was the first person who told them they could talk about anything and was always there for them, which left a lasting positive impact.

What was the topic of the research project the speaker started in eighth grade?

The research project was about the lack of mental health support for students in middle and high schools.

What did the speaker realize during their research project?

The speaker realized that the main problems were the lack of funding, lack of knowledge about mental health issues, and students not feeling comfortable discussing their emotions.

What solutions did the speaker propose to improve mental health support in schools?

The speaker proposed solutions like using a check-in checklist between students and guidance counselors, and implementing a zoning regulation method to track and address emotional states.

Why did the speaker feel the need to expand the scope of their project beyond their school?

The speaker realized that the issues they were addressing were not just limited to their school but were prevalent in schools all over America and the world.

Who did the speaker talk to as part of their research?

The speaker talked to state legislators, organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Boston public school psychologists.

What quote from a psychologist resonated with the speaker?

The quote was 'Emotion is a strength, don't be afraid to use it,' which resonated with the speaker and motivated them to advocate for emotional expression.

What societal issue does the speaker believe is contributing to mental health problems?

The speaker believes that society's discomfort with emotions and the stigma around mental illness are contributing to mental health problems.

Why does the speaker argue that schools are not preparing students for life?

The speaker argues that schools are not preparing students for life because they do not provide space for students to express their emotions and mental health issues.

What does the speaker suggest as a way to improve emotional expression in schools?

The speaker suggests having a dedicated class period for students to express their emotions and discuss their mental health.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Overcoming Personal Challenges and Advocating for Mental Health

The speaker begins by expressing their nervousness and vulnerability, admitting that they were not always open about their emotions. They share their childhood experience of growing up without a father, which caused them emotional distress. They highlight a fifth-grade teacher who provided emotional support, which was pivotal in their life. The speaker then discusses a research project on mental health in schools that they undertook in seventh grade, which became deeply personal and significant. They describe the project's evolution from a school assignment to a personal mission to improve mental health awareness and support in schools. The speaker identifies key issues such as lack of funding, lack of awareness, and students' discomfort in discussing mental health. They propose solutions like check-in checklists and zoning regulation methods to foster a more supportive environment. The speaker's personal journey and the project's impact are emphasized, showing their growth from a reserved individual to an advocate for change in mental health support in educational systems.

05:02

🗣️ The Importance of Emotional Expression and Advocacy

In the second paragraph, the speaker continues to discuss their advocacy for mental health, sharing the impact of talking to state legislators, companies, and school psychologists during their research project. They recount a powerful quote from a psychologist, emphasizing that emotions are a strength, not a weakness. The speaker reflects on society's discomfort with emotions and the stigma surrounding mental illness, particularly in educational settings. They argue that schools should provide spaces for students to express their emotions and mental states, suggesting that this could help prevent mental health issues. The speaker criticizes the traditional school system for focusing solely on academic subjects and neglecting emotional well-being. They propose the idea of having dedicated time for emotional expression and support within the school day. The speaker concludes by envisioning a world where emotional health is openly discussed and valued, and where people are not afraid to express their feelings, ending with a call to action for change.

Keywords

💡Emotions

Emotions refer to a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and expressing emotions, contrasting it with their past reluctance to do so. The speaker's journey from suppression to advocacy for emotional expression is central to the narrative.

💡Mental Health

Mental health encompasses a person's emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how one thinks, feels, and acts, and can determine how one copes with stress and life's challenges. The video discusses the lack of attention to mental health in schools and the negative impact it has on students, advocating for increased awareness and support.

💡Research Project

A research project is a systematic investigation to establish facts and reach new conclusions. In the context of the video, the speaker recounts how a mandatory school project on mental health for students evolved into a deeply personal mission, illustrating the transformative power of engaging with a subject that resonates on a personal level.

💡Generation Citizens

Generation Citizens is a program mentioned in the video that likely focuses on civic engagement and education. The speaker's participation in this program seems to have been a pivotal moment in their realization of the systemic issues surrounding mental health and the need for advocacy.

💡Check-in Checklist

A check-in checklist is a tool used to monitor and manage well-being by asking a series of questions. The speaker suggests using such a tool in schools to facilitate conversations about mental health, highlighting its potential to help students feel seen and heard.

💡Zoning Regulation Method

While not a standard term, in the video, the zoning regulation method seems to refer to a system for tracking and acknowledging students' emotional states, possibly through color-coding or similar indicators. The speaker believes this could help in recognizing and addressing emotional needs.

💡Advocacy

Advocacy is the act of supporting a cause or proposal. The speaker's journey involves becoming an advocate for mental health awareness in schools, demonstrating how personal experiences can motivate one to take action and influence change.

💡IEPs

IEPs, or Individualized Education Programs, are plans for providing special needs students with appropriate services. The speaker points out the exclusion of mental health issues like depression and bipolar disorders from IEPs, indicating a gap in the educational support system.

💡Stigma

Stigma refers to a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. The video discusses the societal stigma around expressing emotions, which the speaker sees as a barrier to addressing mental health issues openly.

💡Emotion as Strength

This concept, as quoted by Mary Cohen, suggests that emotions are not weaknesses but sources of power. The speaker internalizes this idea, using it to fuel their advocacy for emotional expression and mental health support.

💡Preparation for Life

The notion of schools preparing students for life is challenged in the video. The speaker argues that traditional schooling focuses too narrowly on academic subjects and fails to equip students with the emotional resilience needed for life beyond school.

Highlights

Speaker admits being nervous and not always open about emotions.

Growing up without a father had a significant impact on the speaker's life.

A fifth-grade teacher provided emotional support and was a pivotal figure.

The speaker's research project on mental health for students evolved into a personal mission.

The project aimed to address the lack of mental health resources in schools.

The realization that the issue is not limited to one school but is widespread.

Proposed solutions include check-in checklists for students and counselors.

The zoning regulation method is suggested to track and address student emotional states.

The importance of having open conversations about emotions was emphasized.

The speaker discussed the issue with state legislators and mental health organizations.

A psychologist's quote about embracing emotions as a strength was influential.

The speaker advocates for emotional expression and mental health awareness.

Society's discomfort with emotions contributes to mental health issues.

The traditional school environment does not facilitate emotional expression.

The need for a space in school for students to express their true feelings.

Critique of the school system preparing students for life but not for emotional expression.

The absurdity of not being able to put one's name on schoolwork.

A vision of a world where emotional expression is encouraged and seen as strength.

Transcripts

hi everybody

good afternoon hope you guys are doing

well so I'm gonna be totally honest with

you guys I'm like nervous and like I

don't even know I didn't think I would

be here today but here I am and I'm not

just saying this just to say this I'm

saying this because I wasn't always the

person to come forth and say I'm nervous

or you know I'm sad I'm feeling kind of

angry right now I wasn't the person to

always come up and be in front with my

emotions to myself and to others growing

up my family it wasn't really the

natural thing to really say hey can we

talk we have a conversation you know I'm

kind of feeling down I need to sit down

with you if we could talk you know I

grew up without my father and this put a

dent in my life I was hurt for a long

time and just recently I started seeking

hope growing up without my father made

it even worse that I felt uncomfortable

talking to my own family about my

emotions I did have this fifth grade

teacher that I'm super thankful for

because she is the one person when I was

young to say you can talk to me about

anything

whenever I'm here for you I will always

remember her and I'm so thankful and I

truly do wish that everybody else had

somebody like her in their lives in

seventh grade I transferred to Boston

Latin Academy and in eighth grade

my civics class started a research

project on the lack of mental house

for from students in middle and high

schools now this started off as a

mandatory research project that

everybody was doing it was just like

whatever I don't care we're doing this

for grade and I'm going home at the end

of the day but for me it was so much

deeper because out of some sort of part

of my brain I knew that this was what I

liked that this was important to me and

I loved it I stayed after school for

hours working on a board a project and

this project is becoming my life so it's

no longer a project to me and by the end

of this talk I hope you guys don't see

this as a project or just a TED talk

that you came to hear about I want you

guys to take this and say how can I

change this from my child from my

child's school for my school for my

friend during this research project I've

had the opportunity to go to a program

called generation citizens and going to

this company I realized a lot and some

main things that I realized is the

problem the problems with these systems

is the lack of funding the lack of

knowledge about this issue this issue

not being seen as a priority and

students themselves not feeling

comfortable so I came up with a few

solutions that I thought would be very

helpful for myself for others inside of

my school and then I most recently

started to say you know what this is

more than just Boston Line Academy this

is Boston Public Schools this is schools

all over America schools all over in the

world so I realized having simple things

like students and guidance counselor's

using a check-in checklist just simple

questions how was your day if not so

well why would you like to have a

sit-down one-to-one conversation simple

things like that help sometimes we want

as children

you talk to somebody but nobody asked

and we are too afraid to afraid

ourselves to really advocate that for

ourselves another solution that I came

up with is the zoning regulation method

I personally would have loved to have a

zoning regulation method put in place in

any school that I've been to because I

would have realized how many blue days

that I had or how many red days that I

had and somebody would have known also

it wouldn't have just been me it would

have been maybe a guidance counselor

teacher that said it's just somebody

else you know Jordan is having a blue

day and I realized she's been having

these a lot these are really helpful

methods and I really wish they were put

in place when I when I was younger and I

think that they could be super helpful

for anybody else younger or the same age

as me during this research project the

other beginning when this was still a

project I talked to state legislators I

talked to companies like the National

Alliance of on Mental Illness

but I also talked about Boston public

school psych psychologists and one

psychologist that I talked to Mary Cohen

she said a quote that I can't seem to

forget emotion is a strength don't be

afraid to use it

now this quote stuck with me for two

reasons one myself I know how how hard

it is to not be afraid but two it's what

pushed me to advocate for myself inside

and outside of my school and others my

age over time I've realized that society

in general just isn't comfortable with

emotions I've realized that mental

illness is revolving around depression

and bipolar disorders aren't a part of

IEP s why I don't know I've asked people

who are involved with the system I asked

them why they don't know I've asked this

question for months

almost for now I still don't have an

answer schools being the smaller smaller

portion of society meaning that people

who are comfortable talking about their

emotions are gonna eventually be joined

by people who aren't comfortable meaning

eventually maybe those people who and

we're comfortable at first are gonna

feel the need to back off and say you

know what maybe this just isn't normal

this isn't the right thing to do I'm not

really gonna talk about my emotions

anymore I'm not gonna say how I feel I'm

gonna stay closed up now that's an issue

because then they're gonna lead to

depression anxiety bipolar disorders and

it's just a non ending cycle the

traditional way of thinking how to act

in a school is you go to school you

learn your three main subjects maybe

it's math science and English and in

this day there is no room to talk about

how you truly feel why why can't I just

have one 20 minute class period to talk

to maybe a friend or really let out my

true emotions and say listen today has

been really hard for me or you know this

whole week I've been struggling in my

class just one small moment that would

help so many people

now these schools aren't truly preparing

us as students for our life in jail and

I really do hate to say that because we

should be preparing for our life of

freedom America is supposed to be free

think about it

the long dark narrow hallways compared

to the ID numbers that we all get my

science teacher tells us that we are not

to put our names on any of the hard work

that we do we have to put our ID number

and initial and if we are to put our

name we were getting no great for the

work that we've done why why can I put

my name on my work that I spent maybe

hours

and then get no grade for it I

understand that maybe these teachers are

thinking hey this is an easier way

through grade equally but how does that

make us our students feel as teenagers

that we can't put our work our name when

I work that doesn't make sense to me

does it make sense to you it doesn't I

would have loved this whole school year

so far to put my name on all my biology

projects but I haven't imagined a world

where people could talk about emotions

talk about mental health where people

would protest for more than just algae

bt q problems because it's deeper than

all of that it's it goes back to mental

health health issues

imagine a world where people could talk

about these issues freely emotion would

be the strength people are now afraid to

use thank you

[Applause]