Final Reflection

1. I chose to focus on mental health in schools for my project not only because of personal
connections and experiences to the topic, but also because I had heard of efforts made by
my old high school towards addressing the issue. That solution, although I was unable to
directly interview someone for additional information beyond what was explained over
social media pages, included mental health training for teachers and the implementation
of a “red card” system that involved making note of the students who showed signs of
mental health issues (which can have some consequences, granted, but is arguably on the
right track in terms of efforts made to even address the issue in the first place). Overall,
however, the most common solution I observed was an obvious one: money. Whether
from government funding, grants, or funds raised through non-profits, for many schools
the solution seemed to come with the help of money. Money led to additional resources,
better services, more counselors and nurses on staff, and access to training and
information for educators and other faculty.
2. I started my research with the first assignment: the NPR segments. I was a bit
disheartened, however, at the difficulty of finding a segment that discussed the issue of
mental health; only one I could find directly addressed youth suicide rates, while the
other addressed a potential flaw in the school system that involved the early start time.
Going forward, I often had to use articles or blog posts that were not necessarily directly
discussing the issue of mental health and its connection to the educational system, but
were in a way connected to what might be at the root of the issue and others like it in our
society. If I were to continue my research, I would want to put even more focus on those
who, as research shows, appear to be most affected and are the most in need, arguably:
minorities, children in rural areas with a lack of resources, LGBTQ+ individuals, students
who attend schools with a class size so large there are not enough resources and staff to
attend to them all, etc.
3. I would argue that parents as well as educators and other faculty of primary and
secondary schools would (should) be most interested in knowing about this feminist
problem and the solutions. Interest, obviously, relies on the priorities of the individual,
especially when it comes to heads of schools or politicians. A director of a school might
want to address the mental health concerns of their students, but their efforts may be
 constricted by limited funds and resources; contrarily, that same director might instead
have bigger priorities in funding a STEM program or sports facilities than using the
school’s money or funds to, say, implement mental health training. Additionally,
politicians, at a local, state, and national level, should also be more interested in the issue
than they appear to be in reality (and that goes for an interest in the educational system as
a whole as well). As for who would benefit most, I would argue the students have the
most to gain from my (and similar) research, and arguably the most to lose if nothing is
done.
4. When it came to developing my solution(s), I referred to my research whenever possible.
Because much of the solutions I learned about in my research relied on money, one
potential solution could be raising money for chosen schools (and even partnering with a
nonprofit to help out). Another would rely on raising awareness and simply starting a
conversation. The tough thing about such an extensive topic as this, I found, was that
many solutions would be slow to solve anything. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the
past two semesters, though, it’s that change takes time; this would be no different.
5. As I have made note of, much of the solutions towards improving mental health in
schools involves (and often requires) the aid of funding. Because of that, it was most
difficult for me to determine costs that might be associated with implementing some sort
of solution like mental health training for educators, particularly due to the limited
amount of research I found on the topic. I found it easiest to determine the types of
solutions necessary; based on much of my research, it appeared clear to me that simply
educating people on the issue is a priority. Education would involve training educators so
they are aware of how to approach the issue, forming required classes or units within
existing health classes in order to teach students about the topic, and creating support
groups that would provide the support system many students say they wish they had.
6. Overall, this project was enlightening for me. The past two semesters have shown me a
lot about the issues I am most passionate about. This project in particular has taught me
about the extent of this issue, and the efforts (or, more likely, the lack thereof) towards
implementing solutions, whatever those solutions might look like. I tried my best to
approach this issue, and my potential solutions, from varying perspectives and based on
differing factors and experiences that impact and are impacted by my chosen issue of
 mental health in schools. The biggest thing that has stuck with me throughout my
research for this project, however, would have to be something said during one of my
interviews: the necessity of approaching this issue from the roots of the problems, rather
than treating the “symptoms” as they arise. This can potentially apply to many other
issues in this society, as well. In my opinion, much of our efforts to create change are
bound to fail in the long run if we fail to recognize, reform, and restructure the existing
system from which these issues continue to arise.
7. I feel like implementing my feminist solution would take a lot of effort and resources and
time, more than I can offer myself. However, if I were to try to actually implement
something similar, it would most likely begin with simply starting a conversation,
through a blog or similar social media page, through more interviews and surveys of
students and educators to get an idea of how the issue of mental health is currently being
(or not being) addressed, and through similar attempts to talk about the uncomfortable
until it becomes accepted. Changing the minds of individuals and persuading educational
institutions to make the mental well-being of their students a priority will be a challenge,
but the work would pay off if it meant students could attend school and succeed
academically without their physical, emotional, and mental well-being put at stake.
8. I only just discovered my interest in activism during my senior year of high school, an
interest that was the biggest push towards joining Gen-X this past year. The past two
semesters have taught me a lot about what goes into feminism and activism, and this
particular project has played a big role in educating me on just how much work is
involved in activism, how much work it takes to create significant change. I will be
honest, my attention was a bit too divided among my other classes and assignments, and I
regret not putting more work towards making the final draft of this project the best it can
be. However, my resulting project — and all the research I put into it — has inspired me
to want to continue doing similar activism projects in the future, whether on my own or
with an existing group or organization. For my type of project in particular, that might
look like persuading a local school to make the mental health of their students a priority,
or it might look like restructuring and reinventing the educational system on a national
scale. My experience as a first-year student in Gen-X has taught me that oftentimes it
takes a lot of work, it takes having conversations about the uncomfortable, it takes being
patient yet determined in our efforts toward critiquing and improving society, no matter
how small or large the scale.