Solution III: Decompression & Awareness Lounge
1. Explanation Considering the amount of Ridge students who experience mental health problems, something needs to be done to improve the environment of the school. We propose the creation of a decompression lounge in the school so that students have a place to relax and not focus on the stress of school. Schools--such as Chatham High School in New Jersey--have created relaxation rooms, and some have even instituted yoga during their hours. We would have different activities available in the room as methods of de-stressing for students; examples include bubbles, play dough, coloring sheets and other arts and crafts. We would also like to have other activities such as mindfulness and meeting with therapy dogs on a monthly schedule. We want this to be a place where students can go to during their free periods to listen to music with friends, open up, discuss with SACs, and simply relax.
2. Reasoning Currently at Ridge there is no place for students to relax or take a breather. There are no rooms or designated 'safe areas' to go when we need a break from the stressful environment. We believe that a decompression lounge will help students become more comfortable in school by allowing them to relax and freely discuss problems.
3. Supporters The supporters of this solution would be students, as they are the ones who will experience the direct benefits from the decompression room. It will help students in their effort to make a change regarding their mental health by allowing them to de-stress and take a break from schoolwork.
4. Opponents Parents may be in opposition to this solution because they might argue that such a room is distracting their child from doing their school work. They could say that instead of studying, students will be making bracelets or coloring, and this could be considered a waste of time to some. In addition, as we are proposing that SACs to visit this room in order to talk freely with the students, some of these counselors may not have enough time to do so.
5. Implementation In order to implement a decompression room at our school, we first need a space that is big enough and available all day. If that is not possible, then we could have different teachers turn their classrooms into temporary decompression rooms during their free periods. Each decompression room needs to have all the different supplies for the various activities to help students relax. If we cannot get a room, we can create a cart of supplies to travel from room to room.
2. Reasoning Currently at Ridge there is no place for students to relax or take a breather. There are no rooms or designated 'safe areas' to go when we need a break from the stressful environment. We believe that a decompression lounge will help students become more comfortable in school by allowing them to relax and freely discuss problems.
3. Supporters The supporters of this solution would be students, as they are the ones who will experience the direct benefits from the decompression room. It will help students in their effort to make a change regarding their mental health by allowing them to de-stress and take a break from schoolwork.
4. Opponents Parents may be in opposition to this solution because they might argue that such a room is distracting their child from doing their school work. They could say that instead of studying, students will be making bracelets or coloring, and this could be considered a waste of time to some. In addition, as we are proposing that SACs to visit this room in order to talk freely with the students, some of these counselors may not have enough time to do so.
5. Implementation In order to implement a decompression room at our school, we first need a space that is big enough and available all day. If that is not possible, then we could have different teachers turn their classrooms into temporary decompression rooms during their free periods. Each decompression room needs to have all the different supplies for the various activities to help students relax. If we cannot get a room, we can create a cart of supplies to travel from room to room.
Solution III Pros
Allows students to relax for one period in a day and not think about their school work. This will hopefully reduce the amount of anxiety students have because they would be able to take their mind off of their school work. |
Solution III Cons
If the decompression rooms were in various teachers classrooms, this could cause a disturbance. It could make their room messy and in turn, cause more work for the teachers, as they have to clean up. However, students could clean up after themselves! This may also be confusing for students, as they might not know which room is the decompression room during their free period. |