Should High Schools offer mental health days to students?

High school students tend to have a lot going on like school, sports, homework and their home lives. Some students have so much going on in their lives that finding time for friends and family can be hard. With all this stuff going on in their lives, it can become really stressful, especially if you feel like you can’t find time for loved ones or yourself.

According to Mental Health America, around 11% of kids from ages 12-17 have reported having at least one major depressive episode last year according to Mental Health America. That’s only the teens that were willing to admit it. A lot of times, teens don’t want to admit that they are depressed because they think it might make them look weak.

When there’s a lot going on in anyone’s life, it can be really hard to make sense of everything that’s going on. Taking a day off from school or work can give you some time to go through your thoughts and take some time for yourself.

At WHS and other schools, students can only miss eight days of school before they lose credit for the semester. The amount of days we can lose at WHS is only enough for us to miss school when we’re sick or have something important going on. The attendance policy doesn’t leave room for students to take a day off for themselves.

I think that the education of students could improve if we gave mental health days. If students can take a day to focus on themselves, then they will be more willing to focus on school work while they are at school. A lot of students’ personal lives affect their grades in that way. Offering mental health days could really improve our school’s environment.