Mental Health is an issue within our education system

First off I'd like to say, thank you for debating with me. I have enjoyed our discussion. Here is part of a paper I wrote on the mental health of students. This paragraph pertains to how stress impacts mental health: The byproducts of these hormones are said to have the ability to act as sedatives. When large amounts of stress hormones are released it can contribute to low energy or depression. It"s normal to experience highs and lows from day to day, but an extensive release of byproducts from stress can cause people to be down in the dumps for long periods of time and develop what is known as Major Depression. According to Mills, Reiss and Dombeck, "Symptoms of Major Depression may include: sleep problems; fatigue; appetite changes; feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt; an inability to concentrate or make decisions; agitation, restlessness, and irritability; withdrawal from typical pleasurable activities; and feelings of hopelessness and helplessness." In a research study focusing on the coping mechanisms among students conducted by Deasy et al. states, "coping is defined as cognitive and emotional attempts to deal with the internal or external demands of the encountered situation. It is perceived as a process as opposed to a trait or outcome ". The results of this study showed three prevalent methods that students used to cope with psychological distress: escape/avoidance, support and taking control. The most frequent of these methods was the escaping and avoidance method. This included substance abuse, oversleeping, eating disorders and other detrimental habits. (http://journals.plos.org... http://mhn.centersite.org...) To me creating means that it is the sole perpetrator of anxiety and depression. I am stating that it is a contributor due to the stress that homework and tests can place on students. I am also stating that school is not the only reason why people have anxiety and depression. However, my claim is that the American education system increases stress, therefore, increasing the likelihood for depression and anxiety. Here is another article stating the influence on how tests can take a toll on students. http://brainconnection.brainhq.com... I will have to agree with you on the idea that teaching kids about coping mechanisms and how to deal with mental illnesses should not fall completely on the school. However, most parents don't have the right knowledge and resources to help their kids either. Part of the teaching that I believe schools should offer is helping the students recognize patterns of depression and anxiety so they can get the help they need whether it be from the school or from an outside source. I also think another part of the issue is the stigma place on mental illnesses. This article : http://www.newsweek.com... talks about how college specifically have a negative view on mental health. It talks about how some students who went to seek help ended up getting kicked out of college. This then caused students to be afraid of what might happen and therefore not going and seeking help when needed. You talk about how it is mostly home life that is causing mental illnesses. From that point of view I could see how you could come to the conclusion that its not the school's responsibility to provide the resources to help deal with these mental illnesses. So I must ask then, would you say that the school then have no effect on a students mental health? I would say by nature, because students spend an average of 7 hours a day at school during the school year, it must have some effect on the student. I also feel as if you are taking an all or nothing approach. Are you stating that the only way that our American education system can negatively impact students is if it is the only contributor? Say everyone is working on a group project, and five people work on it and get an A. From what I am getting from your statement " if it isn't only the tests and homework that is causing these issues, then the school is not pushing these students to have these mental illnesses." I would assume with the same logic, you'd be saying only one of the students ("home life') got the A on the project and the other student ("the American education system") did not contribute at all to get the A even though every student worked on it collectively. The impact that the American education system has on students is one a piece of what influences a students mental health. There are many others such as home life as you mentioned and social life. It is that the American education system has a negative impact because of the high levels of stress it places on the students with tests and excessive homework amounts (not the only contributors to stress just 2 of the examples I used). If we were to argue that the American education system is the only factor that impacts students health then I could agree with you that it is not the system at totally at fault. I believe it does play a part of it though.