The Student Voice Committee at Rockland Public High School wants students to know that it’s okay if they don’t feel like themselves.
The group, currently made up of four students—three in Grade 5 and one in Grade 6—has created a bulletin board at the school displaying a variety of emotions and explanations of what they mean.
Drawing inspiration from the hit animated movie Inside Out and in recognition of Bell Let’s Talk Day, the students hope to turn the stigma surrounding mental health inside out.
“Often, the stigma around mental health is that talking about it makes you weak,” said Jennifer Crankshaw, a teacher at Rockland Public School who oversees and guides the Student Voice Committee. “But talking to someone about how you feel actually shows strength. When you share your feelings, it takes a lot of courage.”
Crankshaw, who has been teaching at Rockland Public School for the past two years, has been open and honest with her students about her own experiences with mental health challenges.
She said providing kids with mental health resources at an early age is important, as it helps them understand that they can talk to someone when they aren’t feeling their best.
“For a lot of young kids, COVID was a big change. Many of them were schooling from home and wondering when they would see their friends again,” said Crankshaw, who joined the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) three years ago. “We are giving them words to describe their emotions and letting them know that if they feel sad, scared, joyful, or angry, this is what those feelings mean—and that it’s okay to feel that way because they’re not alone.”
Crankshaw said she hopes to create more informative projects with students on the topic of mental health.
“I want these kids to have everything they need,” she said. “Growing up, we didn’t have these kinds of resources. We were just told, ‘It’s okay, you’ll get over it. Just deal with it.’”
