Mentally drained Arck discusses mental health among students

issue that direly needs addressed, as it is attributing to the decline of GPA’s across the nation. On top of the falling grades, dropout rates are increasing, as well as major test scores, like nals, ACT, and SAT scores are descending. While this problem may seem incredibly large and extremely daunting to tackle, there is a key component that could have a major impact. Teachers – educated, qualified adults that interact with students on a day-to-day basis. Teachers could be the missing key to help slow the rapid decline of young adults’ mental health by having difficult conversations, building rapport with students, and recognizing warning signs. Teachers could make strides in helping to reach their students by having somewhat difficult or awkward conversations with students. When teachers promote emotional literacy and make it known that their classroom is a safe space to be able to talk about feelings, it opens the door to the first step of helping students. When students do not feel like mental health could be an appropriate talk with a teacher, they will simply stay silent. While it is not realistic to have mental health discussions take up class time, it is important for teachers to make it clear that they are available and willing to have deep conversations with students outside of curriculum time. A key factor in promoting and having students open up is creating relationships with them. As a student myself, knowing that a teacher truly cares about me, my interests, my personality, and my wellness as a whole makes me leaps and bounds more comfortable to speak with them. Academics come first, as it is the job teachers must do, but having a genuine relationship with students