In recent years, the conversation around mental health has gained critical momentum, and nowhere is this dialogue more urgent than within our high schools. These formative years are marked by intense academic, emotional, and social challenges. Yet, many learners and educators continue to struggle in silence, with mental health issues often overlooked or misunderstood. If we are serious about building safe and empowering school environments, engaging meaningfully with mental health is no longer optional, it is essential.
Why Mental Health Engagement Matters
High school students are under immense pressure. They’re balancing academic expectations, navigating social dynamics, shaping their identities, and facing the uncertainty of their futures. Teachers, too, face heavy demands juggling lesson plans, emotional labour, and the well-being of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of young people.
Mental health engagement, openly addressing and supporting emotional well-being, creates the groundwork for thriving learners and resilient educators. Without this support, the risks are sobering: rising levels of anxiety, depression, disruptive behaviour, academic decline, and in severe cases, school dropout and substance abuse.
The Impact on Learners: What We are Seeing
Mental health challenges among high school learners often manifest in clear but frequently overlooked ways. According to Siboniso Malinga, mental health lead at M&G Research, teachers should be trained to spot early warning signs such as irritability, social withdrawal, fatigue, disengagement in group activities, and sudden drops in academic performance. “These are not just behavioural issues,” Malinga explains, “they are cries for help, and we need to start listening.”
Malinga also stresses the importance of creating safe spaces where learners can speak openly.
“Schools should be open to hosting mental wellness sessions where learners get to engage and discuss all the challenges they’re facing within the school environment, especially those they see as threats to their performance.”
The Teacher’s Role
Teachers are not only first responders to students’ emotional struggles, but they are also deeply impacted by them. As Mr. Myeni, a dedicated educator, points out, “It’s important for high schools to engage in mental health conversations because we are dealing with learners from different backgrounds, all facing different problems. This leads to them struggling to focus during teaching, taking on rebellious behaviours, or becoming completely disengaged.”
These behaviours, he adds, don’t just affect students, they ripple into the daily experience of teachers, creating a strained and difficult school environment. “Both learners and teachers face multifaceted mental health challenges, from bullying to social isolation, and these issues deeply affect behaviour in classrooms and beyond.”
Myeni strongly advocates for greater collaboration, suggesting schools “invite mental health professionals to conduct small seminars for learners,” and most importantly, engage with parents, whom he calls “pillars of their children’s lives.” “If we want to make meaningful progress,” he says, “parents must also learn about and support their children’s mental health.”
Building a Mentally Healthy School Culture
True mental health engagement in schools isn’t about once-off events, it’s about a long-term, sustainable commitment to wellness. This includes:
- Mental health education embedded in the curriculum
- Regular peer dialogue sessions and safe discussion spaces
- Access to trained counselling professionals on school grounds
- Support and wellness programs for educators
- Family engagement initiatives to educate and involve parents
- Leadership that champions mental health as a school-wide priority
Wellness is the Foundation of Learning
Mental health engagement is not a “nice-to-have” it’s a must-have for schools that aim to educate, empower, and inspire. When learners are emotionally supported and teachers are equipped and cared for, the entire school community benefits.
Now more than ever, we must break the silence and make mental health part of the everyday language of learning. A school cannot truly succeed unless both the learners and educators are mentally well and emotionally safe.
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#SupportEducators
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#WellnessMatters
#BreakTheStigma
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