New York is taking a huge step toward erasing the stigma associated with mental health.
The home of the city that never sleeps has officially become the first state to include mandatory mental health classes in the curriculum for grades k-12. The law that enforces this new rule came into action on July 1st and strives for “making health a standard part of the education system”.
Though teachers will have leeway as to how they would like to organize the classes and lessons, The New York State Mental Health Education Advisory Council, established in August 2017, has provided some guidelines as to how the classes should be conducted. These guidelines include nine key points of focus that the classes will need to follow. Some of these focuses will include identifying signs of mental health problems, resources for help and support, and the negative stigma that surrounds mental health.
Unfortunately mental health is a rising epidemic that affects more individuals than expected. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association the number of teens and adults who suffer from mental health problems has reached an astounding number. The association shows that 40 million adults in the U.S. (ages 18 and older) suffer from anxiety disorders every year. For children, though this number is not higher, it is still very surprising. According to the National Alliance of Mental Health, studies show that 13 % ages 8-15 and 21% of teens ages 13-18 experience severe mental disorders.
The commissioner of education in the state, Maryellen Elia, told NBC News Better tat decreasing the stigma tat surrounds this epidemic is one of the main reasons New York has passed the bill. Virginia has also recently passed a law tat requires ninth and tenth graders to be taught mental health lessons as well.
I believe this is the right step toward changing the mental health stigma in our country. Not only will this teach young kids how to identify when they are not okay it will also show them getting help is okay. Hopefully this will become more of norm and many states will be on their way to making the same additions in their curriculum.
Comment down below what you think of the new curriculum and if you would like to see this in more schools across America.
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