Campus Lost Without Wellness Center
The Pony Express Editorial Board
The Pony Express Editorial Board
Student mental health has become a rising concern over the past few years and mental health resources in schools have become more of a necessity.
The Wellness Center was one of those resources at Pioneer. Students were able to come in during class, brunch and lunch to talk with one of the counselors or to take a break and decompress if the day wasn’t going as planned. Due to a lack of funding, the Wellness Center did not come back for this school year. One of the other mental health resources is the Social Emotional Learning Program that was implemented into our regular school schedule two years ago. And yet, the implemented SEL lessons are far from what students need in terms of finding ways to cope with their mental health.
While the idea of opening the discussion to mental health, leading to a more aware school environment sounds like a worthy investment, it is not all that it has been made out to be with SEL. Many tensions and negative feelings lie with the delivery of these lessons, as students and faculty have had problems with a couple of lessons where SEL failed to tackle sensitive topics eloquently. The lessons were often giving jaded advice that students have heard a number of times. The baffling thing is that the school pays for this curriculum that at most solves the problems on its leaves, but not at its roots. The program’s shortcomings fail its students by not realizing its target audience. Opening up about personal subjects that many would struggle to admit to themselves and sharing them with a classroom of peers is incredibly difficult for most students.
The Wellness Center provided different types of coping skills for students to use. Students leaned on that resource and now miss it more than ever. They are not the only ones who miss it though, as teachers are now the first person to notice if something is wrong with their students. The pressure is now more intense than ever since there is no longer a place to send students in a mental crisis on campus. Then it becomes the teacher’s responsibility and they are placed in an uncomfortable position to be their student’s therapist when their teaching credentials do not cover it. This is in stark contrast to the Wellness Center’s personnel who are equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to talk with students through personal struggles.
Another thing to consider is the level of comfortability of the environments each of these systems tackle mental health in. SEL could occur in a ranging number of different learning environments depending on what fourth period the student has. This creates a worse atmosphere compared to the cushioned, secluded and friendly environment of the Wellness Center that even included a variety of de-stressing activities for students or give an outlet to play with.
Availability also plays a factor in how well a resource can be utilized by the students. With SEL, it’s treated as another required course, with signs and enforced times to open up and to talk which can give an off impression about the topic on mental health. Not as a discussion but as an extra lecture. However, the Wellness Center had resources available for the students any time they needed to visit.
While SEL opens the discussion for mental health awareness, the Wellness Center gave the students tools to tackle it. Without the Wellness Center, the effects of SEL are nullified even more. However, no matter how much one system works and the other fails, it's important to keep in mind that it takes the school faculty and the students’ efforts to make any real change and improvements.
The Wellness Center was one of those resources at Pioneer. Students were able to come in during class, brunch and lunch to talk with one of the counselors or to take a break and decompress if the day wasn’t going as planned. Due to a lack of funding, the Wellness Center did not come back for this school year. One of the other mental health resources is the Social Emotional Learning Program that was implemented into our regular school schedule two years ago. And yet, the implemented SEL lessons are far from what students need in terms of finding ways to cope with their mental health.
While the idea of opening the discussion to mental health, leading to a more aware school environment sounds like a worthy investment, it is not all that it has been made out to be with SEL. Many tensions and negative feelings lie with the delivery of these lessons, as students and faculty have had problems with a couple of lessons where SEL failed to tackle sensitive topics eloquently. The lessons were often giving jaded advice that students have heard a number of times. The baffling thing is that the school pays for this curriculum that at most solves the problems on its leaves, but not at its roots. The program’s shortcomings fail its students by not realizing its target audience. Opening up about personal subjects that many would struggle to admit to themselves and sharing them with a classroom of peers is incredibly difficult for most students.
The Wellness Center provided different types of coping skills for students to use. Students leaned on that resource and now miss it more than ever. They are not the only ones who miss it though, as teachers are now the first person to notice if something is wrong with their students. The pressure is now more intense than ever since there is no longer a place to send students in a mental crisis on campus. Then it becomes the teacher’s responsibility and they are placed in an uncomfortable position to be their student’s therapist when their teaching credentials do not cover it. This is in stark contrast to the Wellness Center’s personnel who are equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to talk with students through personal struggles.
Another thing to consider is the level of comfortability of the environments each of these systems tackle mental health in. SEL could occur in a ranging number of different learning environments depending on what fourth period the student has. This creates a worse atmosphere compared to the cushioned, secluded and friendly environment of the Wellness Center that even included a variety of de-stressing activities for students or give an outlet to play with.
Availability also plays a factor in how well a resource can be utilized by the students. With SEL, it’s treated as another required course, with signs and enforced times to open up and to talk which can give an off impression about the topic on mental health. Not as a discussion but as an extra lecture. However, the Wellness Center had resources available for the students any time they needed to visit.
While SEL opens the discussion for mental health awareness, the Wellness Center gave the students tools to tackle it. Without the Wellness Center, the effects of SEL are nullified even more. However, no matter how much one system works and the other fails, it's important to keep in mind that it takes the school faculty and the students’ efforts to make any real change and improvements.