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Are US Schools Doing Enough for Mental Health?

时间:2022-09-01 06:14:36

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Are US Schools Doing Enough for Mental Health?

For 9-year-old Leah Rainey, the school day now begins with what her teacher calls an "emotional check-in."

"It's great to see you. How are you feeling?" a voice comes from her laptop. It asks her to choose an emoji that represents how she feels: Happy. Sad. Worried. Angry. Frustrated1. Calm. Silly. Tired.

Depending on her answer, Leah gets a few more questions: Have you eaten breakfast? Are you hurt or sick? Is everything okay at home? Is someone at school being unkind?

On a recent day, Leah chose "silly." But she said she struggled with sadness during online learning.

Leah is in the fourth grade at Lakewood Elementary School in the American state of Kentucky. This year, all 420 students there will start their days the same way. The school is one of thousands across the United States using technology to measure students' state of mind and warn teachers of anyone who might be struggling.

The tool that Leah Rainey and other Lakewood students use for "emotional check-in" is called Closegap. Rachel Miller2 is the founder3 of Closegap. She said interest in the technology exploded because of the coronavirus pandemic. She said more than 3,600 American schools will be using the technology this year.

Disagreement over social-emotional learning

In some ways, this year marks a return to pre-pandemic normalcy in the U.S. Most school systems have lifted face-covering requirements. Most have also ended social distancing rules. But the pandemic's long-lasting effects remain. Among them are the effects of loneliness and distant learning on children's emotional well-being4.

School systems across the country are using federal pandemic money to hire more mental health specialists. They are also using the money to expand classes that deal with emotional health.

The class, called social-emotional learning, or SEL, has become the latest area of disagreement in education.

Some American parents say SEL classes are used to teach ideas about race, gender5 and sexuality. And they take time away from the more traditional classes.

Asra Nomani is a parent from Fairfax County in Virginia. She said, "Social-emotional well-being has become an excuse to intervene in the lives of children in the most intimate of ways that are both dangerous and irresponsible."

But educators say the class helps students deal with pressure and emotions. And it will help them in the classroom and life.

Dan Domenech is the executive director of the national School Superintendents6 Association. He said, "We are finally beginning to recognize that school is more than just teaching the kids reading, writing and arithmetic." Just as a hungry child cannot learn, Domenech added, a child with a troubled mind cannot pay attention to schoolwork.

Have we done enough?

A recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 44 percent of high school students said they experienced "feelings of sadness or hopelessness" during the pandemic.

President Joe Biden's administration recently announced over $500 million in assistance to expand mental health services in the country's schools. The money is in addition to federal and state money that schools have received to deal with pandemic-related needs.

Claire Chi is an 11th-grade student at State College Area High School in central Pennsylvania. She described the government's efforts as "temporary." Last year, her school added emergency counseling and therapy dogs, among other supports. But most of that help lasted a day or two, Chi said.

That's "not really a mental health investment for students," she said. This year, her school has added more counselors8 and plans mental health training for all 10th graders.

Many schools, however, are having trouble hiring counselors.

Goshen Junior High School in northwest Indiana has been struggling to replace a counselor7 who left last year. Jan Desmarais-Morse, one of two counselors left at the school, said, "One person trying to meet the needs of 500 students? It's impossible."

The American School Counselor Association recommends having one counselor for every 250 students. But few states in the country have that. For the 2021 school year, only two states — New Hampshire and Vermont — met that goal. That information is based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

The Associated Press found that some states have a very low number of counselors: Arizona averages one counselor for every 716 students. In Michigan, it is one for every 638 students. And in Minnesota, it is one for every 592 students.

Take a break

Lakewood Elementary school has used federal money to create "take-a-break" corners in each classroom. School counselor Shelly Kerr said students use the corner to learn to deal with concerns and worries. The school plans to build a "Reset9 Room" this autumn to create a safe area where students can speak with a counselor.

Houston, Texas, has one of the largest school systems in the country. There are 277 schools and nearly 200,000 students. Students are asked each morning to hold up their fingers showing how they feel. One finger means a child is hurting deeply; five means they feel great. Houston teachers now give mindfulness lessons. Two dogs -- a Chihuahua named Luci and a cockapoo named Omi -- have joined the school system's crisis team.

Houston also built relaxation10 rooms, known as Thinkeries, at 10 schools last year. The rooms cost about $5,000 each. Data show that schools with these rooms saw a 62 percent decrease in calls to a crisis line last year. The school system says it is building more Thinkeries this year.

In Irvine, California, an artist was busy painting images on the wall of a room called a "Well Space" at University High School. The room is designed to have an un-school-like feel. When school starts this week, counselors and mental health specialists will be in the Well Space to meet with students.

The goal of the Well Space is to normalize the idea of students asking for help and to give students a place to reset.

Tammy Blakeley is the Irvine school system's director of student support services. She said, "If they can re-center and refocus, they can then, after a short break, go back into their classrooms and be prepared for deeper learning."

Words in This Story

emoji - n. digital image used to express an idea, emotion, etc..

hire - v. to give work or a job to someone

gender - n. a person's own sense of being male, female, some combination or neither

intimate - adj. very personal and private

arithmetic - n. a branch of math that deals with numbers and their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division


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1 frustrated ksWz5t     
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧
参考例句:
  • It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
  • The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 miller ZD6xf     
n.磨坊主
参考例句:
  • Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
  • The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。
3 Founder wigxF     
n.创始者,缔造者
参考例句:
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。
4 well-being Fe3zbn     
n.安康,安乐,幸福
参考例句:
  • He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
  • My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福,却被误解为多管闲事。
5 gender slSyD     
n.(生理上的)性,(名词、代词等的)性
参考例句:
  • French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语,所有的名词都有性。
  • Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。
6 superintendents 89312ee92e8a4cafd8b00b14592c93a7     
警长( superintendent的名词复数 ); (大楼的)管理人; 监管人; (美国)警察局长
参考例句:
  • Unlike their New York counterparts, Portland school superintendents welcomed McFarlane. 这一次,地点是在波特兰。
  • But superintendents and principals have wide discretion. 但是,地方领导和校长有自由裁量权。
7 counselor czlxd     
n.顾问,法律顾问
参考例句:
  • The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
  • Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。
8 counselors f6ff4c2b4bd3716024922a76236b3c79     
n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 );律师;(使馆等的)参赞;(协助学生解决问题的)指导老师
参考例句:
  • Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。) 来自超越目标英语 第4册
9 reset rkHzYJ     
v.重新安排,复位;n.重新放置;重放之物
参考例句:
  • As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地,就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
  • He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术,正在恢复。
10 relaxation MVmxj     
n.松弛,放松;休息;消遣;娱乐
参考例句:
  • The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
  • She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

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