SOS to all C/O 2020 graduates to help me implement Mental Health Education into schools.

Hi, I'm Mathis Kremer and I'm the salutatorian of Smithfield High School. I'm calling all c/o 2020 student body presidents, salutatorians, and valedictorians to join me in promoting the hashtag #MHE4ME as a means to send the message to the education system that Mental Health Education is NEEDED, NOW.

I believe that mental health education would solve an exceptional amount of problems in today's world that are becoming more prevalent than ever. Even causing protests & instability...

First: school shootings. If students are mentally stable and more compassionate toward each other as a result of being taught the consequences of their words, then they'll be less likely to hold enough hate in themselves to shoot other children.

Second: anxiety in the students that don't know how to deal with the stress that comes with an abundant course load. Mental health education should teach students how to practice habits of both THINKING and DOING in order to stabilize one's mind.

Third: hostile division across the country. Whether it be over politics or whatever, I've noticed a rising amount of hostility between people of differing ideas. Mental health education should educate people on how to control their emotions, keep calm, and look at things in a positive light. In this case, the positive light would be seeing the other person as an opportunity to become educated on differing views.

Fourth: unhappiness. The rising depression and suicide rate.

Fifth: lack of motivation. Teaching students their road to happiness by providing methods of self care will make them more efficient in school and in the long run (at their jobs) by establishing an internal locus of control and a strong mental foundation in students.

During my senior year, my school was threatened to be shot up on social media. Luckily, police were able to raid the suspect's house and confiscate his guns and ammo. What did my school do in case we're not so lucky in the future? Nothing. Simply hope it doesn't happen again.

This is wrong. Giving kids work only to have them become anxious about it is wrong. This country's hostile division is wrong.

Gun laws, giving teachers guns, implementing metal detectors, pasting hopeful quotes on school walls, etc, are simply bandaids to this problem that stems from unhappiness.

I'm proposing a solution, not a bandaid.

MHE4ME

Submitted May 28, 2020 at 11:50AM by himaffis https://ift.tt/3gw8MSW