Brynn Gorney

Mrs. Storer

English 3 Honors, Block 4

November 26th, 2019

Is the School System Deteriorating the Mental Health of Students?

It is no secret that school, while being a place of education and planning for the future, is

widely dreaded by many students. While authorities seem to overlook this fact, school continues

to have unaccounted side effects on its pupils that has caused some controversy on the necessity

of school. The viability of the school system and the effect it has on both students and future

generations has come into question many times. By this point, many people seem to be asking

the same question: “Is school truly a healthy way to teach the children of the future and is there a

way that school could be changed for the benefit of the mental health of students?”

First, those seeking reformation must ask themselves, is school a healthy way to educate

young minds? It can’t be quite as bad as students “exaggerate” it to be, can it? Statistics and

surveys seem to prove the opposite. In a recent interview, students agreed that their school

experience has not been enjoyable in the least, the majority pointing to excessive homework as

being the main issue. A claim from a professor of education and psychology at Duke University,

originally written in The Washington Post, supports this claim. The man says that “no more than

two hours of homework a night should be assigned to students in high school.” As a high school

student, I can support that the amount of homework I am given each night adds up to way more

than two hours and quite overwhelming. Countless nights of tears and thoughts controlled by
pure stress haven’t exactly opened up the bright, cheery future I thought I was working towards.

How can one enjoy school if they spend all of their time doing homework? If students had a

lesser amount of homework to complete each night, they would most likely be a lot happier at

school and at home.

Most importantly, The Washington Post also mentions that too much homework can

negatively impact students with stress and physical problems, which can and have led to suicide.

According to an article by Child Trends, in 2017, about 17.2% of high school students seriously

considered suicide. From 2009 to 2017 there has been a 25% increase in suicidal thoughts. Every

year suicidal thoughts and death counts keep rising in number due to the lack of enjoyability at

school and the mental problems that result from the current system. Any number of suicides

should come as an alarm, regardless of how large. If the current system leads to suicide, surely

no one can support it as it is.

With all of this laid out, supporters of this cause must now ask themselves, “Is there a

way that school could be changed for the benefit of the mental health of students? What can we

do to fix the problems that school has posed?” On multiple occasions, it seems like a child’s

well-being or mental condition is not among some of the first priorities of schools. Perhaps, by

making the mental health of students a priority, the facts will start to change. Peers of mine

suggested a created an on-campus counseling office for students with mental health issues,

especially since the number of students who could use such a program is relatively large. They

also suggested asking students with said issues what they think can be done to help them. We

cannot help what we cannot hear. Starting with a basic mental health care program and following

this up with lessened amounts of homework will surely help the current situation. If nothing, it is

a start. This argument should not be brushed off and we must open our eyes to see that school is
not healthy for students’ happiness as it currently is.
 Work Cited Page

 A Review of California's Compulsory Education Laws,

lao.ca.gov/2004/compulsory_ed/020304_compulsory_education_laws.htm.

 Strauss, Valerie. “Homework Hurts High-Achieving Students, Study Says.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 24 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-

sheet/wp/2014/03/13/homework-hurts-high-achieving-students-study-

says/#targetText=%E2%80%93Many%20students%20wrote%20that%20homework,life

%20tasks%20outside%20of%20school.

 “The Rate of High School-Aged Youth Considering and Committing Suicide Continues

to Rise, Particularly among Female Students.” Child Trends, 14 Nov. 2018,

www.childtrends.org/high-school-aged-youth-considering-and-committing-suicide-

among-female-students.

 Whetten, Bruce, and Douglas Dispatch. “DHS Students Return to Clear Backpack

Policy.” Douglas Dispatch, 21 Oct. 2019, www.douglasdispatch.com/news/dhs-students-

return-to-clear-backpack-policy/article_37a1ade4-f43c-11e9-8eee-a3eb7a10cea0.html.