2
0
The well-being program and what needs to change
The high school well-being program at AISJ is a hour-long session once a week for students to learn about mental health, time management, social skills, and other wellness-related concepts such as substance abuse and reproductive health. That being said, reaching the half year mark since the introduction of these Wednesday sessions, many students at AISJ feel as though the program is making little progress, and while the intended effects on students’ well-being are positive and effective, the results say otherwise.
Upon conducting anonymous interviews with students at AISJ, we found several trends in attitudes and general thoughts/opinions about the well-being program. A tenth grader gave her opinion, saying that although the program has “good intentions”, the way it is being carried out “isn’t good enough” and “it doesn’t have enough of an impact on us. … we’re in a school setting so you’re scared of being judged … they say it’s confidential but it’s hard to believe that”. Additional interviewees stated their thoughts with the words “I like wellbeing but I just feel like some aspects of it need to change” and “I feel like the interactive part of wellbeing has benefitted many”.
From these opinions, we can infer two main things: something about well-being needs to change. The lessons need to be designed in a way that fulfills their original purpose. However, we have also received many positive comments regarding the wellness program. Students speak on the program’s consistent ability to plan, organize and carry out interactive class games. One student said they think “the wellness program has progressively improved from the beginning” which is only natural as wellness lessons slowly become the norm and students adjust to an extra period on Wednesday. The organization of the blocks are also extremely well thought out. The students interviewed agreed that Eagle Forum teachers knew what to do throughout wellbeing and didn’t seem disorganized in any way.
Students have also commented on how some sessions are done in comfortable environments, while other classrooms are just not the place to be sitting for an hour, with one student saying they “don’t think sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher lecture should be the go to for every wellness lesson” and that “going to the playground and having fun might be a good change”.
Getting fresh air and doing some relaxing interactive games could be just what students need every once in a while during well-being sessions to cater to these general patterns of critique we noted. Students themselves would like to know what the next step will be.
