week 10 post 2

Post 2

For many students school is associated with negative emotions due to anxiety, stress, boredom, bullying,and many times even depression. Twenty percent of high school students report depression, however this does not include those who are in denial or feel too uncomfortable to report. This number has spiked dramatically in recent times compared to previous school records which correlates with the general emotion that in recent years, Americans have reported higher levels of negative emotion. This alone speaks for itself. Something needs to change because school is supposed to be an environment which fosters curiosity and happiness; It should be an environment that kids grow and thrive in, not one that they find to be their source of stress and unhappiness. A Lot of this can be attributed to the extremely high competition in school and focus on being the best student in standardized form which often leaves students who don't fit that learning pattern in an awkward, stressful position. Many students feel that they would rather cheat and pass than fail and learn, which is quite unfortunate because children aren't engaging their brain to the full extent. This spike in unhappiness needs to be understood and approached by both parents and schools alike because until someone changes something, children will continue to become burnt out and disengaged. 

According to scientist Danielle Cohen it is super important for parents to be involved and open minded with their children's education. They must realize that times have changed and that their child might need some extra support. The first thing she really stresses is getting involved in a productive manner. For many younger kids they react well to you doing the homework with them in a calm, respectful manner, and when you ask them questions rather than them asking you all the questions. For older kids having a conversation with them about their day and what they are learning while sharing parts of your day and what you are learning can really motivate them and make them feel respected and cared about as an individual. She then stresses that positive verbal reinforcement can really go a long way because by receiving those kind words and hugs they associate learning with happiness, and that is when they start to learn because it makes them happier and feel a significance towards learning. Another way she recommends supporting your child is supporting them through the effort rather than just the end goal. Many times school becomes long and overwhelming but by providing them with praise for their hard work and getting through the hard times, they start to find benefit in hard work too. The last thing she mentions is to make sure the kids know that everyone makes mistakes, make sure they know it is okay to have a bad week, to not always do the best, as long as they take it and learn from it. At this point it becomes integral to wonder how schools can build more positive environments because that is a direct effective way to improve the livelihood of children. While all fifty states require bullying prevention programs most of them still experience very high rates of bullying because there is a very high focus on raising awareness and then administering punishment. Many teachers also fail to notice or report bullying for a multitude of reasons ranging from they simply didn't notice, or more systematic things like racism. The more effective way to go about this would be to build a more positive school environments of the bat and to make sure there is positive leadership.it is also important to promote emotional and social learning. When schools open up to methods such as this they have seen various positive results such as a reduction in anxiety, emotional distress, disruptive behaviors, aggression, bullying, and hostile attribution bias. Both the engagement of schools and parents can be a very beneficial way to help promote the happiness and wellbeing of students.