Mental health, especially in high school, is typically an issue that people believe they are educated about. Schools will discuss suicide awareness and what signs to look for, but then move on as if this type of thing doesn’t happen every single day in our country. From a young age, kids should be taught about mental health.

My mom is a preschool teacher, and she can point out the signs of the kids who will develop these issues. Maybe it’s because she has kids of her own who deal with it, so she’s educated on the topic.

If that’s the case, though, shouldn’t all teachers be? There aren’t a lot of kids who will feel comfortable enough to come up to their teachers and say what they’re going through. I’m not saying teachers should automatically know if every single kid is dealing with something, but if it’s serious enough, they should.

It just really gets under my skin how when something happens, such as a suicide, everyone pretends like they care about mental health for a couple days and then go about their lives as if nothing ever happened instead of actually doing something about it.

There are things that the school can do. Redhawk Rants are a start, but more can be done.

Even if the person doesn’t want to be helped, the effort should be there anyway. Unless a student physically turns down or ignores help, the job isn’t done.

Many parents may think that educating their kids on a topic so sensitive when they’re still young could be an issue. However, some young children actually do face these things, so it’s better that the environment around them is aware. Providing mental health education in school starting early could really make a difference and it’s a difference worth trying to make.