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Students Speak Up About Mental Health and School

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Sad and frustrated student puts head on desk representing mental health challenges

“Every school, it seems, has a moment that crystallizes the crisis facing America’s youth and the pressure it is putting on educators. For one middle school counselor in rural California, it came this year after a suicide prevention seminar, when 200 students emerged saying they needed help. Many were sixth graders.” –AP News

If you have students in your life right now, you know that the kids are not all right. Compounded crises—from school shootings to the COVID pandemic to the ever-more-visible harms of climate change—have accelerated a trend of increasing rates of anxiety and depression in students. As adults, we have a responsibility to know the facts and to act, but we also have an opportunity to listen to and learn from the lived experiences of young people.

Youth Voices Normalizing Mental Health

We invite you to listen and learn from these stories by middle and high school students published on the KQED Youth Media Showcase.

Understanding the Need for More Mental Health Support

Grades and Burn Out

Social Media

Society and Mental Health

Explore more student perspectives on the Youth Media Showcase.

More Ways to Normalize Talking About Mental Health

Peer Health Exchange’s selfsea is a peer-to-peer platform with free resources, support, and stories from young people who’ve been there. selfsea is for young people aged 13-18 designed as a safe space to discuss and share knowledge on identity, mental health, and sexual health.

These Above the Noise episodes can help destigmatize mental health and bring facts and research into classroom conversation.

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