“You have to fight for us because we are dying”

A few weeks ago, after sharing at a local high school, a senior came to me with these words describing his experience in schooling

This is a student who received top honors and academic scholarships to his dream colleges and universities

This is a student who had “made it” in the traditional system and yet was voicing a cry for help for all the others, like him, who felt they were dying on the inside

Unfortunately, this cry is all too common and all too commonly overlooked in our conversations related to “school reform”

Take a listen to these other voices from adolescents on their distress in schools:

• “It’s hard to describe the stress. I’m calm on the outside, but inside it’s like a demon in your stomach trying to consume you” 

• “I’m going insane but that’s ok because my grades are more important than my mental health anyway”

• “I don’t think anyone cares whether I show up to school or not”

• “The worst thing about school is that they make you think that that’s all there is in the world and you get all anxious and worked up and depressed over grades and classes and homework that you lose sight of the fact that you’re still so young”

Our students are desperate for us to understand and acknowledge the pain they experience in the name of achievement in our schools

They are crying out for us to see the stress and anxiety they feel in the pressure cooker of modern education

They long for us to listen to the grief and anguish they experience when they are graded, sorted, tracked, and tested to death

They desire an education that brings them wonder, curiosity, joy, imagination, purpose, and meaning

They walk into our classes with an equal sense of hope and dread. Hope that this class, this teacher will be the one that inspires them, sees the good in them, believes in them, lights their soul on fire. Dread that this will be just one more quiz to take, one more exam to cram, one more worksheet to mindlessly fill out.

In an era of unprecedented adolescent mental health crises, it is no longer acceptable to merely bury our heads in the sand and hope things get better.

I have written about this over and over again in this newsletter

I have shared my belief that all the Algebra and Composition teaching in the world will not matter to the hundreds of thousands of students who feel just like this senior did: that they are unseen, unheard, and unvalued

That the stress and anxiety schools put students through in the name of “academic achievement” are literally killing our kids (and our educators, as I wrote about here)

Indeed, schools that focus almost exclusively on grades and test scores foster in students not just anxiety but a sense of isolation as they are pitted against their peers for the credentialing believed necessary to acquire college admissions and scholarships.

According to research in this Newsweek article, the nature of schooling has fundamentally changed in recent years in a way that contributes to the spike in mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies

Denise Pope addresses this in her excellent book “Doing School”: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students

In her research on high achieving students, she writes:

“They are articulate, focused, multitalented, and industrious. They are the pride of the public education system and the hope for the future.

Listen to the student, though, and you’ll hear a different side of success.

Sleep just two to three hours each night and lives in a constant state of stress. Face anxiety and frustration. Resort to drastic actions when they worry that they will not maintain the grades they need for future careers. Admit to doing things that they’re not proud of in order to succeed in school

Passion and engagement were rare, and the daily grind of the school day took its toll on their health and happiness”

It is time we as educators work upstream on behalf of the students we serve to ensure our places of learning are communities of care and belonging

That is why my work is to help school leaders create schools that are rooted in care, that are full of wonder and meaning, and that invite students into purpose and flourishing

Yes, reading and math scores matter…but the very lives of our students should matter more

We should understand and acknowledge that education is and always has been not about information but about human formation

We should create intentional pockets of belonging where every student knows they are seen, valued, and valuable…and not just leave it to chance in the halls or the lunchroom

We should invite student voice and agency into the classroom, unlocking and unleashing their passions, their curiosity, their wonder, their hopes and dreams as the bedrock for the courses we teach

We should slow time down to allow students to dwell in thick community with their peers and with the adults in the building tasked with mentoring them

We should provide safe spaces for our students to exist apart from their hyper-connectivity to the digital world

We should listen to students and ask them what they need from us…and not merely expect compliance to our demands

We should recognize that there are no small moments when it comes to the well-being of the children in our care

In the end, we should offer them an education worthy of their one precious lives

My life’s work is to help schools, school leaders, and educators writ large tell better stories for their schools

To create healthy ecosystems where everyone has the chance to be their most robust self

I have written extensively about this in previous articles (especially this one on how and why schools should be reimagined as centers of care and community) and speak on this to schools around the world

My hope and dream is that one day, every student and every educator exists in a school that is a safe, caring, kind, welcoming, imaginative, innovative, creative hub of purpose and meaning

I am in the fight for this student and all students who are crying to be seen, to be heard, and to know they are valued

If I can help in any way, please let me know

Dr Scott Martin is an award winning, hall of fame educational leader and the founder of Odyssey Leadership Academy. He works with educators, schools, and school leaders across the world to inspire hope and help reimagine and transform schools to be places of flourishing for all in order to help schools tell a better story for students, educators and the world.

From one-on-one dream sessions, to consulting with your team, to sharing at your site, Dr Martin is passionate about helping you reimagine learning in your educational community.

You can learn more about his work and book Dr Martin to come share at your school—from workshops, consulting calls, professional development, keynotes, or year long cohorts—at https://www.drscottamartin.com/