Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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Editor’s note: About 550 Clark County high school students participated in the annual Sun Youth Forum on Sept. 11 at Clark High School. The students were divided into groups to discuss several topics. A spokesperson was chosen from each discussion group to write a column about the students’ findings. Today, Brian Greenspun turns over his “Where I Stand” space to Kaylee Daniel, a senior at Liberty High School.
Student Representative Kaylee Daniel, Liberty High School, poses during the Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at Clark High School Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
At the 65th Sun Youth Forum, more than 500 students were divided into groups based on topics that they were interested in and selected in advance. The topic I selected was “School Days,” which discussed important topics in K-12 education. Specific subjects discussed include the relationship between school and mental health, the deteriorating value of a high school diploma, and the lack of passion and compassion in the educational system.
My peers and I agreed that academics and mental health shared an intimate connection. As one student in my peer group put it, “It’s nearly impossible to focus on school when you’re struggling to survive.” While the expression “struggling to survive” might be an overstatement for some students, survival is a legitimate concern for others. This is especially true for students who are expected to navigate and fulfill adult responsibilities with limited social or familial guidance or support.
One solution we explored is the introduction of a life skills class, a continuation of the “freshman studies class” many schools offer. This course could fit into CCSD-mandated health classes, providing students with essential tools to navigate the challenges of adolescence and early adulthood. At the core, we all face struggles, whether in work, school or personal relationships. To secure our future, we must empower our most vulnerable during this unstable phase of life.
Similarly, schools should do more to support mental health in students. After all, mental health and anxiety can have a significant impact on both social acceptance and academic performance, each of which are essential for success in the future.
One student in our group described grappling with depression and suicidal thoughts. Seeking support from a friend, she was reported to a program to aid students with mental health challenges. Unfortunately, the program meant to assist her inadvertently exacerbated her condition.
What she endured is difficult to articulate, but her desperation and pain were palpable and filled our quiet classroom. The interventions and frequent “mental health checkups” that pulled her out of class did more harm than good. Not only did she have to contend with her past academic challenges, but now she also had new obstacles, such as social isolation, due to the intervention. Her story underscores the urgent need for a more compassionate, private and effective approach to supporting students’ mental health.
Finally, to ensure that students are successful in the future, they must be held to high standards of performance today. Nevada high school diplomas are held to significantly lower standards compared with those in states such as New York or California. This discrepancy became evident with the introduction of the 50% policy during the 2022-23 school year, which guaranteed that students never received a score lower than 50% on any test or assignment. Combined with an unlimited retake policy, designed to help students transition post-COVID-19, the 50% policy fostered apathy and procrastination while artificially inflating graduation rates.
Motivating students became an uphill battle as they saw the 50% policy as an opportunity to do the absolute minimum while still receiving “passing” grades. “The bare minimum” quite literally required submitting nothing and still receiving half credit. This “gamified” approach to education further diminishes the quality of education in Nevada.
The consequence? Attending school is not enough to succeed in a future career, and the purpose of high school is unclear. Are we simply supposed to get to the finish line and collect a diploma or are we supposed to develop skills and habits that will help us succeed as adults?
I believe that each of the challenges discussed in this column stems from a lack of passion and compassion in Nevada’s classrooms, school district board rooms and students. Without that passion and compassion, a classroom is a habitat for apathy and detachment.
Nevada has created an educational system that reinforces apathy and detachment. We struggle to hire and maintain teachers, attend to student work ethic and graduation rates, and provide essential connections between students and their future success.
While administrators or CCSD School Board members may “approve” of certain classroom curricula, clubs, sports or other activities, administrators are largely absent from the classrooms, organizations and activities they are responsible for governing. They discuss them in the abstract and make decisions that can set otherwise successful programs up for failure.
Teachers do their best to be passionate and compassionate, but given their low salaries and seemingly limitless responsibilities, they face an uphill battle each and every day. Raising teacher pay would go a long way toward rekindling the fires of passion and compassion. But that alone is not enough.
We need to invite teachers, students, administrators, politicians and community leaders to listen and learn from each other’s concerns, just as my classmates and I did at the Sun Youth Forum. By working together, we can revive classroom passion and compassion, return to higher standards for our education system and create a path to a brighter future for all of us.
