Adolescents and children go through a lot in school, they have homework, unbearable teachers (except Mrs. Thomas), drama, and even problems at home in most cases. Ultimately, what would happen if all this stress got to them? How would they handle it? For everyone, dealing with stress is different, however, for a lot of people, it could lead to mental health problems like depression, or anxiety, etc… Some symptoms of depression (for example) that teachers should look out for are, lack of energy, little or no concern (apathy), having a hard time concentrating, excessive or little amounts of sleep, a “gloomy” or sad mood, unproductive, random sad episodes, etc… Even so, seeing those symptoms aren’t easy, to be completely sure, they would need a mental health screening. What if your child’s school doesn’t offer these screenings, or if there aren’t enough counselors to provide hem? That could lead to serious problem for many reasons, and in this article, I’ll explain why I believe that schools should have (more) mental health screenings.

If schools provided (more) mental health screenings, students will be able to get the help they need in order to carry out everyday actions and performances, along with their school work. Studies show that mental health screenings can break barriers in order to help kids learn more efficiently, it gave kids a better outcome for behavioral issues, so if schools offered (more) these screenings, the students would have a better chance to actually do the work, rather than be frustrated, and struggle because of something they can’t control.

Students would feel safer talking about the subject of mental health, if it were stressed more in their health classes, or school in general. Bullying and reproduction are very important subjects, even so, a student’s mental health, and the causes, are equally important.

Mental illness is a topic not commonly talked about in schools, this is why kids and adolescents tend to keep their illness to themselves and why it’s so hard for them to speak about it. They fear that their peers, family, teachers, or anyone else, will think negatively about them, and their illness.

If the student gets treated sooner, they would be able to function normally again, and carry out ordinary tasks, of course, one way to treat it sooner is by a screening, and if your child’s school doesn’t provide any, (let’s say they have depression) they will be at more risk of suicide. According to a data table, 75% of adolescents under the age of 18 get treated for a diagnosed illness, however, in higher income countries, only 25% of children with mental health problems get a treatment.

Some people tend to believe that the screenings are bad for children, or they don’t help. Some people believe that if you can’t treat it, then you shouldn’t get screened. Even if you can get treated, people also believe that if you get screened in school, you won’t get the proper treatment you need. In 2003, the U.S. Freedom Commission on Mental illness reports that all 52 million students should get screened for “mental illness”, so they can get “treated sooner”, by asking them embarrassing questions that will label them mentally ill, is probably how the opposing side of the argument would state it. However, they don’t realise that the screenings DO help. They suggest what the problem might be, and even if you do get screened in school, you’ll know how to treat it. Once you know what the problem is, you’ll know how you can go about the situation, you know how you can help yourself. James Mazza has studied mental health screenings for 20 years, he says that the task force's proposals were not broad enough for the kids. He says the screenings are not diagnoses, they don’t say that for certain that you may have depression, or ADHD, or anything else. It just determines what kind of help you could need. He also believes that screenings is a valuable way of helping those at risk of suicide.

Children deserve to know how to work with their mental illness, they should know how to control it. If your (child’s) school doesn’t offer (enough) mental health screenings, then maybe we could add more adjustment counselors, because currently, my school only has 6. That’s not a lot if you consider the number of students at my school (keep in mind, my school has three different “teams” sort to speak in each grade. So if there are maybe around a hundred or more students on each team for 8th grade, then you can imagine the total number of students in the school). This is why I think schools should offer (more) mental health screenings.

Sources
Borrell, Brendan. "Pros and Cons of Screening Teens for Depression." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 2017. Web. 19 May 2017.
Heitz, David. "Should Schools Screen Kids for Mental Health Problems?" Healthline. Healthline Media, 29 Aug. 2015. Web. 19 May 2017.
Sifferlin, Alexandra. "Mental Health: Schools Should Screen For Mental Health Disorders." Time. Time, 07 Oct. 2014. Web. 19 May 2017.
"Facts about the Dangers of Mental Health Screening in Schools." Facts about the Dangers of Mental Health Screening in Schools. N.p., 27 Aug. 2009. Web. 23 May 2017.