A Brief History

In the Fall, I entered into the Learning, Education, Schooling program with enthusiasm and determination. I left the program a changed person, with a new outlook and new questions. My definitions and understandings of learning, schooling and education were emptied out, widened, twisted and transformed. I often tell people “That program messed me up, but in a good way.” I guess you could say I learned something!

The thing is, once I saw what had been done to me, how I had been “schooled”, I couldn’t unsee it. I was awakened to all the attempts of the world to “school” me, to force me into a neat little box, expecting me to follow the leader without question. Now I was familiar with this concept as it relates to marginalized populations, stereotypes and gender roles. The degree to which it happens in our schools systems was new to me. The default of assigning labels and assuming what is good for most is good for all is imbedded into the systems. They’ve done such a good job it took me my entire life to ask “Why?”

My next program took me on a really boring journey through Abnormal Psychology, where I encountered these boxes over and over again. Humans like to categorize things, it is how we make sense of the world. I get it. My argument is that these categories do more harm than good. As a person who wants to do good in the world, how can I accomplish that within oppressive systems that box people in? I have some ideas, which I will explore this quarter.

So why schools? Because that is where the children are.

It is hard to pin down exactly when I decided to work with children but it definitely had something to do with my discovery of Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs). ACEs refer to trauma encountered in early childhood that research has shown to have negative impacts that can continue throughout the lifespan. ACEs have been linked to everything from depression and substance abuse to heart disease and broken bones.

Objectives

Through my examination of mental health in schools, I will gain a thorough understanding of how mental health issues, particularly trauma, impact learning. I will become versed in the various roles of mental health providers and how they operate in schools.

What do mental health issues look like in the classroom?

How do we prevent or treat mental health in schools?

Who is responsible for the interventions or treatments?

In what ways can we(a society) interrupt the cycle of trauma?

What are mental health providers actually doing?

Disclaimer: An Experiment in Learning

Honestly, this all started with me being frustrated at the arbitrary assignments that my last program faculty assigned. I felt suffocated and insulted on a regular basis. It seemed to me that my faculty didn’t trust me or believe that I was invested in my own learning. This led me to wonder, what would I learn if no one told me what to learn? If left to my own devices, where would I go? I imagined spending time in nature, learning about plants and birds, soap-making and artistic ventures. I was also drawn to the questions and concerns I presented above, surrounding the topic of mental health in schools. I realized I didn’t have to choose. It’s not art or psychology, plants or people. It’s art and psychology, plants and people. These things don’t exist in those funny little boxes humans love to use to make things neat and tidy.

So my disclaimer is, yes I have a focus and this is an experiment. My hope is that in this WordPress and my writing throughout the quarter, I will be able to reflect my attempt to break free of the boxes and follow my intuitive desire to learn.