Solution I: One Excused Mental Health Day
1. Explanation Our first alternate solution is to give all Ridge Students one excused mental health day for each of the four years of their student career. Because a majority of students face stress or experience mental health issues on a daily basis, an excused day from school is necessary for all students; this gives them a chance to take a day to relax and get themselves back on track. It is undeniable that students are constantly under more pressure than they can handle; this can often lead to mental breakdowns or functional impairment. A designated mental health day would allow students to receive one excused absence throughout the year for a reasoning of their choice.
2. Reasoning The concept of giving all students one excused mental health day comes from the collective voice of Ridge students themselves. Our survey reported that students have stayed home from school for various reasons relating to mental health: 79% due to lack of sleep, 44% due to excessive sadness, 61% due to stress, and 40% due to presentation anxiety (Trucco)¹. This proves that not only is the lack of mental wellness normalized, but nothing is being done to fix the issue at its very roots. Furthermore, all Ridge High School juniors are allotted three excused absences for college visits, so doing the same on a smaller scale for mental health is proven to be a realistic proposal. Currently, Ridge High students are allowed 22 unexcused absences per year, 11 per semester. This solution would not compromise student attendance and graduation requirements or impair their learning, it would simply allow one additional outlet to rely on in the case of emotional distress. Test avoidance and skipping school are a common occurrence for high schoolers, and are often relied on as one would rather miss an entire days worth of lessons to avoid dropping their grade with a test they didn't study for. If students are aware they can have one school-mandated but self-chosen day to get their sleep schedule back on track, recover from a mental breakdown, or study for a large final without the stressors of other classes, it would alleviate pressure.
3. Supporters The primary supporters of this solution are students and parents. Students are in favor as they face the issue first hand and desire change. They would experience the immediate benefit from having a day off from school; this would allow them to take a day to de-stress and get themselves back on track. Parents would be in support of this solution as it would allow them to have an active and honest role in helping their child if they are struggling. It could open up conversation on serious topics, and give parents the opportunity to monitor the well-being of their children.
4. Opponents However, parents may also disapprove of this solution, as they could argue that one day is not sufficient for students that constantly struggle with stress and mental health issues. Also, they may find difficulty in leaving their child home alone on a "mental health day", as this may have implications of depression or other serious concerns (though this is not always the case). Teachers, faculty, and the board of education could also oppose this proposal, as it would create more work for them to keep track of such excused absences as well as makeup work, respectively. Furthermore, there could be concerns regarding this absence causing more stress for students, as they would have to make up the work that they missed.
5. Implementation Ridge High School allows three excused absences for college visits to all juniors, as the school board wants to encourage students to be proactive in planning their future. By implementing this solution, they would be encouraging students to be proactive by taking care of their well-being. Doing this would promote student mental health awareness and allow recognition for the fact that students sometimes need a day to recuperate. Starting in the fall of 2019, "mental health day" would become a category for an excused absence, following the same procedure of college visit excused absences. Teachers would be notified when their students use a mental health day, this would allow students and teachers to have more open and understanding conversations when it comes to making up work. Mental health days would require parent confirmation and a short, one sided "Mental Health Log" questionnaire and diary for the day to be handed to the students guidance counselor when they return. Students would have four days after their excused mental health day to make up tests and projects and two days to make up homework assignments, however if they do not adhere to these deadlines it will result in a zero.
1. Explanation Our first alternate solution is to give all Ridge Students one excused mental health day for each of the four years of their student career. Because a majority of students face stress or experience mental health issues on a daily basis, an excused day from school is necessary for all students; this gives them a chance to take a day to relax and get themselves back on track. It is undeniable that students are constantly under more pressure than they can handle; this can often lead to mental breakdowns or functional impairment. A designated mental health day would allow students to receive one excused absence throughout the year for a reasoning of their choice.
2. Reasoning The concept of giving all students one excused mental health day comes from the collective voice of Ridge students themselves. Our survey reported that students have stayed home from school for various reasons relating to mental health: 79% due to lack of sleep, 44% due to excessive sadness, 61% due to stress, and 40% due to presentation anxiety (Trucco)¹. This proves that not only is the lack of mental wellness normalized, but nothing is being done to fix the issue at its very roots. Furthermore, all Ridge High School juniors are allotted three excused absences for college visits, so doing the same on a smaller scale for mental health is proven to be a realistic proposal. Currently, Ridge High students are allowed 22 unexcused absences per year, 11 per semester. This solution would not compromise student attendance and graduation requirements or impair their learning, it would simply allow one additional outlet to rely on in the case of emotional distress. Test avoidance and skipping school are a common occurrence for high schoolers, and are often relied on as one would rather miss an entire days worth of lessons to avoid dropping their grade with a test they didn't study for. If students are aware they can have one school-mandated but self-chosen day to get their sleep schedule back on track, recover from a mental breakdown, or study for a large final without the stressors of other classes, it would alleviate pressure.
3. Supporters The primary supporters of this solution are students and parents. Students are in favor as they face the issue first hand and desire change. They would experience the immediate benefit from having a day off from school; this would allow them to take a day to de-stress and get themselves back on track. Parents would be in support of this solution as it would allow them to have an active and honest role in helping their child if they are struggling. It could open up conversation on serious topics, and give parents the opportunity to monitor the well-being of their children.
4. Opponents However, parents may also disapprove of this solution, as they could argue that one day is not sufficient for students that constantly struggle with stress and mental health issues. Also, they may find difficulty in leaving their child home alone on a "mental health day", as this may have implications of depression or other serious concerns (though this is not always the case). Teachers, faculty, and the board of education could also oppose this proposal, as it would create more work for them to keep track of such excused absences as well as makeup work, respectively. Furthermore, there could be concerns regarding this absence causing more stress for students, as they would have to make up the work that they missed.
5. Implementation Ridge High School allows three excused absences for college visits to all juniors, as the school board wants to encourage students to be proactive in planning their future. By implementing this solution, they would be encouraging students to be proactive by taking care of their well-being. Doing this would promote student mental health awareness and allow recognition for the fact that students sometimes need a day to recuperate. Starting in the fall of 2019, "mental health day" would become a category for an excused absence, following the same procedure of college visit excused absences. Teachers would be notified when their students use a mental health day, this would allow students and teachers to have more open and understanding conversations when it comes to making up work. Mental health days would require parent confirmation and a short, one sided "Mental Health Log" questionnaire and diary for the day to be handed to the students guidance counselor when they return. Students would have four days after their excused mental health day to make up tests and projects and two days to make up homework assignments, however if they do not adhere to these deadlines it will result in a zero.
Solution I Pros
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Solution I Cons
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