Category: High School

Lasting Problems with Law School Culture

Introduction

We as law students have recently entered into a lifelong journey in the legal profession. The journey began in our respective undergraduate programs where we considered our next path in life. With this, we did our very best to get high grades and studied tirelessly for the LSAT. We sat down for hours on end staring at a blank screen, thinking about how 1800 characters could portray who we are as individuals to strangers reading our application. We then waited in anticipation for months to see if any school was willing to accept us into their professional program – and here we are at Windsor Law. Speaking from personal experience, I had no idea what I signed up for when I accepted my offer at Windsor Law.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into issues surrounding mental health in law schools and in the legal profession. Throughout this paper, I will demonstrate that anxiety and depression begin in law school and it permeates into the legal profession once law students become lawyers. This can have a detrimental effect on the health of law students, and consequently, lawyers in the profession. Lawyers are perceived as superior workers incapable of failure, and those who deviate from that perfect picture are scrutinized for their perfection. Such skewed expectations regarding ‘the perfect lawyer’ grow their roots in law school and infiltrate the legal profession. The mental health concerns surrounding law students and lawyers will be discussed throughout this paper.

First, I will begin by discussing the mental health crisis that begins in Canadian law schools, including specific reasons why anxiety and depression originate in law school. Second, I will reflect on my personal experiences as I began law school and some of my experiences in law school that illuminate my own mental health problems. In doing so, I will also provide reasons for my concern that anxiety and depression do not end upon graduation – rather, it is the opposite. Next, I will discuss the current climate that legal professionals face in the wake of this mental health crisis. Case studies of lawyers throughout Canada will be provided to demonstrate how to challenge anxiety and depression in the legal profession. Finally, I will conclude by offering some possible solutions that are intended to address the mental health crisis in the legal profession. These solutions tackle issues both in law schools and in the profession as well. If we begin to tackle this issue surrounding mental health both in law school and the profession, we will be better equipped to achieve justice.

The Current Crisis of Mental Health in Law Schools

According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, “one in five people in Canada experiences a mental health problem or illness.” The question then arises, are law students and lawyers more likely to be affected by mental health issues? The Law Society of Upper Canada in 2017 concluded that yes, “legal professionals may be at an even higher risk than the general population of experiencing career and life challenges and struggles with mental illness and addictions.” For law students, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) reported that “up to 40% of law students may have significant levels of depressive symptoms.” The CBA also reported that lawyers deal with depression at rates four times higher in comparison to the general population. So, what is it about being a law student or lawyer that makes them particularly vulnerable?

This intense shift away from positive motivation and goal-directed learning is particularly concerning. A single year of law school has been shown to result “in a shift in students from intrinsic to extrinsic motivation, a result contrary to the usual tendency of people to shift towards intrinsic values if any shift occurs.”

Susan Davidoff, an expert on the personality of lawyers, “synthesized the research into the following list of predominant attributes – competitiveness, need for achievement, materialism, aggression, dominance, low interest in emotions, and a thinking decision-making style”. In the same study, Daicoff identified characteristics of law students as “dominant, competitive, leadership-oriented, socially confident, extraverted, aggressive, achievement-oriented, masculine, materially motivated, logical analytical and conforming to rules”. High levels of mental distress begin in law school, and studies have shown that symptoms appear as early as two months into the study and remain well into practice.

Further data reveals additional changes that are quite troubling. In a study completed by Lawrence Krieger and Kennon Sheldon at Florida State University College of Law, the sample of law students had a shift “from strong mental health and life satisfaction measurements during initial orientation to distinctly elevated distress and depression… later in the first year and into the second year.” Research on lawyers is equally as startling. In a 1990 study by Johns Hopkins, lawyers ranked highest in major depressive disorder among 104 occupational groups. One might argue that future lawyers arrive at law school with predispositions to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, but the research demonstrates otherwise.

Lawyers begin their careers as young budding law students who enter their perspective law schools during orientation. These students come in optimistic about what is to come in the hopes of doing their best academically and making a difference in the world professionally. These same law students arrived with essentially normal psychological markers but shifted quickly to major psychological distress in the first year. However, something suddenly changes. Law students realize that this institution is built upon competition where students vie for grades higher than their classmates so they can get the greatest, highest paying jobs relative to their peers.

The theme is consistent. This theme dominates the minds of law students from the moment of their arrival. You must work hard and get the highest grades against your competition, feel good about yourself, get a suitable job, and be successful. As these goals grow larger, students become tired and anxiety replaces enthusiasm and internal satisfaction. Law students are set up for these problems to persist by an overwhelming emphasis on differentiation, self-worth, and competitive outcomes. This outcome is threatening to the mental well-being of students and subsequently, lawyers as well.

How it Affected Me – A Tale of a Young Budding Law Student

I personally felt the effects of the negative feelings that can overcome you during your law school career and potentially beyond. I initially came into law school with the mentality of “whatever happens happens, so long as you do your best”, but unfortunately that mentality did not stay with me long. I fell victim to the competitive nature that law school holds. Many people had warned about it, but I had no idea what sort of effect it would have on me until I experienced it for myself.

When the dust had settled after the first year, grades came out. I refreshed my computer for hours on end until all my grades were staring me in the face. I was happy – actually, I was ecstatic. When all was said and done, I felt a rush of relief that I had done well, and it was an exhilarating feeling. I felt this instant performance-based boost and felt like these grades were a testament to how hard I worked. I had been very hard on myself in the first year, as many of us were, but I gained this new-found confidence and feelings of security solely based on the grades I had earned. Suddenly, I felt like I was part of an elite group of students on campus. It was almost as if I felt invincible – so invincible that I narrowly set my mind to getting that illustrious job on Bay Street. These grades had value and the next natural step was to reproduce this victory and the addicting sense of relief that came along with it.

As I began the process during the OCI recruit, I felt excited and had high hopes. Everything seemed to be going perfectly. I met with partners, associates, heads of recruitment, and articling students – many of whom seemed as excited to meet me as I them. However, this was all a game that I would soon lose. My top choice called me at 5:03 pm on Call Day. The Head of Recruitment had called me to tell me what I thought was the good news – but I was wrong. She had called me to tell me I was first on the waiting list, and she would call back as soon as another student rejected their offer. She called again at 5:07 pm and I remember feeling a smile on my face when I saw the Caller ID. “I’m so sorry, but all of the students have accepted their offers. I wish there was more we could do, but we wish you the best of luck.”

I was crushed. I felt like an absolute failure – all my hard work and all the time spent doing applications, networking with lawyers, and putting my heart and soul into this recruit amounted to nothing. When I failed, the negativity was overwhelming. I lost the enthusiasm and the spark I initially felt after finishing the first year. Those feelings of satisfaction and confidence were gone. My mental health was not prepared for the aftermath of this experience. My health felt secondary to these feelings of depression, and it affected me in a way I was not equipped to handle. I didn’t talk to friends or family for days at a time, I barely slept or ate, and all I could do was sit and wonder what I did wrong.

Maybe I was aiming too high, perhaps I’m just not cut out for Bay Street like I thought I was.

Thankfully, I have amazing friends and family who would not give up on me, even though I had given up on myself. They forced me to keep trying and while I was hesitant at first, I did my best to find some confidence and try again. I am so glad that I did because I have since found myself a job. A job that I am proud to have accomplished, and one where I truly feel like I belong – Bay Street or not. But I worry that future failures are inescapable. We as humans are not perfect, and we all make mistakes. What happens if I don’t get asked back as an associate? How will I react when I lose my first case? These are some of the numerous questions I ask myself. I worry not only for myself but also for my colleagues in the profession. (MORE)

How This Issue Continues in the Legal Profession

Jerome Doraisamy, the author of The Wellness Doctrines, argues that law students and lawyers have common identifiable personality traits – (1) pessimism; (2) perfectionism; and (3) competitiveness. Each will be considered in turn. First, pessimism is defined as a tendency to interpret the causes of negative events in stable, global and internal ways”. This is in contrast to optimism, which views setbacks as temporary in nature and this distinction connects pessimism to unhappiness. Unlike other areas of study and professions, law uniquely rewards pessimism. Studies have demonstrated that students with a pessimistic or midrange explanatory style significantly outperform their optimistic peers. Law students are trained to look for flaws in arguments, but when that pessimistic view spills into the personal realm, problems can arise.

The pessimism that might be adaptive in the profession can also be a major risk factor for depression and anxiety in a lawyer’s personal life. Secondly, the thinking of a lawyer can also exacerbate mental health issues. Lawyers tend to rely on strong cognitive skills to solve problems, but when tendencies towards self-criticism, pessimism, and perfection worsen during mental illness, lawyers cannot “think” their way out. For illnesses such as anxiety and depression, the problem is that this way of thinking is evident – it becomes a never-ending trap. The very personality traits and characteristics that make lawyers good at their job are also what make them susceptible to certain mental illnesses, reluctant to seek help, and resistant to treatment. The environment that law school creates provides a breeding ground for this problem to persist in the profession.

Law school culture effectively teaches students to set aside their personal lives to the detriment of their health. This unhealthy approach prepares students for the legal profession, where colleagues compete with one another for status, recognition, and money at the expense of their personal life. Assuming that the success of students is largely defined by external rewards such as grades, external recognition, and money or opposition, these competitive goals, values, and motives will promote tension and insecurity, while minimizing satisfaction and wellbeing in the lives of both law students and lawyers. Anxiety or depression is likely to manifest in the individual because, regardless of one’s level of success, one will no longer experience internal satisfaction.

This loss of value is a serious concern and a likely source of continued loss of well-being that marks the beginning of a destructive approach shared by many lawyers. This indicates that when students graduate and enter the profession, they are significantly different people from those who arrived to begin law school. These new lawyers are more depressed, less service-oriented, and more inclined towards undesirable, superficial goals and values. Law schools breed a culture of competition and conformity. Culture in this sense is perceived as peer pressure, dominant rituals, and unspoken habits that construct and defined the behaviors and beliefs of members of the legal community. Because this culture operates at multiple levels, it creates a powerful mindset that lays the groundwork for mental anguish for a majority of students. This reinforcement of external success that ranks students against one another discourages students to develop internal measures of accomplishment.

(MORE) – you need a clean transition from this culture into the profession

The Current Climate of Mental Health Issues in the Legal Profession

Simply put, lawyers are not immune to anxiety and depression. Contrary to popular opinion, top grades and the highest salaries emphasized in law school culture do not improve the likelihood of a happy and satisfying life. In fact, it may be the exact opposite. Sociologists Ronit Dinovitzer and Jonathan Koltai found that lawyers experience a higher risk of mental illness and addiction. More specifically, private sector lawyers in big firms experience significantly more depression than those in the public sector and are lower on the income scale. Stress, burnout, and anxiety are reported as the most prevalent amongst lawyers. Mental health issues such as depression, substance abuse, and anxiety that overwhelm big-firm lawyers with the highest salaries can be attributed to the number of hours worked.

The high number of hours per week leads to a work-life imbalance that is vital for quality of life. However, these grueling hours in “big law” are often celebrated by these firms as it can be attributed to dedication to their craft. Simply put, the more a lawyer works and the more they get paid, the worse off they become mentally. This immense pressure to meet obscene billable hours is what forces lawyers to work excruciatingly long, high-stress days. As a result, lawyers may sometimes feel like they are failing in every aspect of their life – as a lawyer, as a parent, and as a friend. Dinovitzer calls this “role conflict”, where lawyers feel as though they are neglecting their personal lives for their work and neglecting their work for their personal lives.

Lawyers going through emotional distress are not likely to ask for help. The stigma against mental illness is vast in society generally, and the stigma is increased in the legal profession. Lawyers fear that their own mental health issues might demonstrate that they are inferior to their colleagues and as a result, keep their issues hidden. People living with mental health problems have reported that the experience of stigma alone can have more devastating impacts than the illness itself. Law students are trained to be thinkers, rather than feelers, which disallows them to cope well with emotional problems. The profession demands that lawyers are perfect and this professional pressure toward perfection can be personally debilitating.

Case Studies – How These Lawyers Overcame Their Demons

In the paragraphs that follow, I will provide concrete examples of legal professionals who discovered they had anxiety and depression. In doing so, I will highlight their areas of concern and how they overcame the initial stigmatization of mental health issues in the profession. I will also outline how they have tackled their anxiety and depression head-on and have shared their experiences within the legal community.

Michelle Hollins

Michelle Hollins is the former president of the Canadian Bar Association and was recently appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in 2016. When her twin daughters moved out of the house for college, Hollins began to experience symptoms of depression. At first, she was able to mask her symptoms and pretend that she was okay at work, but it got to a point where her depression would cripple her from completing her work. When she was unable to function to her full potential, friends of Hollins intervened and convinced her to get professional help. Hollins said that her previous work at the Canadian Bar Association brought her closer to many legal professionals dealing with addiction and other mental health issues that kept them from being good lawyers and happy humans. Although this is an invisible illness to many, Hollins has ensured that the legal profession continues to hear her story and despite her trepidations, she has had no repercussions for publicly sharing her experiences.

Derek LaCroix

Derek LaCroix is a veteran criminal defense lawyer who understands the importance of getting help, both for his own mental health and for the success of his clients. Decades ago, LaCroix had terrible anxiety and became addicted to alcohol. Like many other lawyers, he couldn’t understand as a high achiever, why he couldn’t solve this problem himself. It took a drunken brawl to get him on the road to recovery. Although he initially went back to lawyering and excelled, he decided to use his personal experiences to give back and help lawyers in similar situations. LaCroix currently serves as the first and only executive director of BC’s Lawyer Assistance Program. With his expanded sense of self, LaCroix gives back to those in need, who in turn, support others in times of distress.

Orlando DaSilva

Orlando Da Silva is the former president of the Ontario Bar Association and a current Bencher candidate. During several career milestones, Da Silva recounts major episodes of depression. He never told his classmates nor did he tell his colleagues during articling at a prestigious law firm. In 2008, Da Silva attempted suicide with a bottle of sleeping pills. Even as he recovered in the hospital, he grew weary that the stigma of mental illness would destroy the career he worked so hard for. When Da Silva became bar association president in 2004, he focused his efforts on mental health as a priority, where he shared his story and provided resources to remove the stigma surrounding the issue. Orlando is now a champion for lawyers who face mental health issues and exposes the reality that no one is alone in facing mental health challenges in this demanding career.

Overall, the above three professionals provide hope to others that we are not alone in experiencing anxiety and depression in our careers. All of these individuals who have shared their stories are currently thriving in their respective roles in the legal community, despite their negative experiences. Lawyers who have experienced and recovered from mental health issues are in the best position to provide deeper understanding and support to those who may be struggling.

Taking the First Steps – A Solution

This problematic culture that begins in law schools is quite static, non-adaptive, and resistant to change, even in the face of strong pressure from positive mental health proponents. Law schools are often tethered to their traditions and because of this, they are less likely to welcome any sort of transformation. I worry that those who seek change in law schools underestimate the power of this culture of competition and conformity.

In Ontario, the Ontario Lawyers’ Assistance Program (OLAP) works individually with approximately 1,200 people. Mental health issues – depression, anxiety, and extreme debilitating stress – account for 42 percent of the cases according to its 2010 report.

Concluding Thoughts

I understand that it is difficult to change the very system that has created this issue. Law schools and the legal profession are explicitly competitive in their nature. In fact, it is what makes us successful students in law school and passionate advocates for our clients.

While it is an ambitious goal, I am cognizant of the fact that the mental health crisis cannot be revamped overnight. Perhaps mitigating the effects might be beneficial in the interim. (last paragraph)

References

1. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/lawyers-more-likely-to-experience-mental-health-problems-the-more-successful-they-are-study/article36681757/
2. https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.ca/&httpsredir=1&article=3148&context=ohlj
3. http://albertalawyersassist.ca/app/uploads/2017/07/The-Lawyers-Paradox.pdf
4. http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/guinier/publications/sturm.pdf
5. https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/legalfeeds/high-pressure-law-jobs-linked-to-depression-14835/
6. https://journals-sagepub-com.ledproxy2.uwindsor.ca/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022146517754091
7. https://lawyerswithdepression.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/institutional-denial-about-the-dark-side-of-law-school.pdf
8. https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/dlr/article/viewFile/268/272
9. https://handbook.law.utoronto.ca/sites/handbook.law.utoronto.ca/files/users/alzner/Kreiger.The%20Inseparability%20of%20Professionalism%20and%20Personal%20Satisfaction.pdf
10. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/lawyers-mental-health-addiction-problems-1.3865545

7 girls, one high school. I began high school thinking that it was exactly like I had learned about through Hollywood movies, there was the nerd who was always made fun of for his brains, the bully who would push the ‘nerds’ around and steal their lunch money, the jock who was good at every sport and the guy that girls drooled over, and lastly the mean girl and all her minions who all the other girls wanted to be. I spent the first few weeks of high school learning that not all of these stereotypes were true until I realized that I was one of the seven minions of the popular, mean girl.

Boy, I’ve come a long way. Without my faith and my integrity, I would still walk down the school hallways with those ‘packs’ of girls.

I spent the entirety of my freshman and sophomore years of high school with my six best friends. We would shop, have sleepovers, paint our nails, and most of all gossip. We would gossip about everyone and everything; I would follow along even though deep down I knew it was wrong. Each moment like this — choosing to or to not gossip– made me start to push away the small part of the old me inside. I was really disregarding who I knew I was and could be as an individual. Little did I know this group of friends was holding me back from a high school experience that could be filled with endless memories made with a variety of people.

There was no specific moment or event that shifted the aspect of my friendship with these girls. I wish I knew what it was that shifted my view so I could help others who are now in the position I was once in. I started to realize that I was not being my true self and that was because of the people I was surrounding myself with.

Before high school, I had always seen myself as a light in others’ lives. The bubbly fun girl who was friends with everyone; the athletes and the nerds. But at the beginning of high school, that was not who I was. I buried my personality and replaced it with the ones of those six girls; mean, self-centered, and focused on popularity and nothing else.

So looking back, I was the one who was impacted the most by this change in my life. Obviously so were my parents and friends, but most of all me. Through this change, I made new friends and found my true self in the process. Now, I look at myself in the mirror and see a person that I am proud to be. A person that works her hardest to talk to everyone, no matter who they are. A person who cherishes the little moments in life, the moments spent with my family and new friends.

I can now say they I am a different person and I love the person I have become. I always have a smile on my face. I am conscious of my actions and their impact on others. I see people in a different light. I am happy. It made me aware of the different people all around me and allowed me to see all angles of every situation.

Once I made the change to remove the toxic friendships in my life and work on becoming a better version of myself, I found the best friends that I have now. My forever family. Most of these girls and I have known each other since middle school but because I was so caught up in that other group, I never got the chance to get to know them. My best friends are the kindest and most respectable people I have ever met and have made me into the girl that I once was. When I am with them I know I can be my true self. I can laugh, can tell them anything, and never do I feel judged,

You know, Hollywood films are true, but just like me, each character has to make a choice between their true selves and popularity. This choice is hard because it makes you question who you are vs. who you want to be. Do you want to be your true self? Or do you want to be the popular girl, one who isn’t the nicest, but has a good rep?

Albert Einstein once said, “What is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right.” These days, a popular idea appears to be that four-year colleges and universities are the only option for high school graduates to find a meaningful career. Some school counselors, teachers, and other educators pressure their students to attend four-year colleges or universities. They seem to be remiss in acknowledging a crucial concept: attending four-year colleges may not be for everyone. Some students have special limitations or no intrinsic interest in post-secondary academics at the college level. Despite society’s favoritism towards young people attending four-year colleges, such individuals should consider that there may be alternatives more suitable to them than attending such colleges directly after high school.

One option for students who would still like to work toward a college degree but have situations impeding them is junior college. Unfortunately, four-year colleges have exorbitantly high tuition, and that is a problem that many young people face. According to the College Board in 2019, the average cost of in-state tuition and room and board for a year at a public four-year college in the United States is $21,950 (“Average Published Charges”). Because tuition expenses are rising faster than the average family income, students who attend these schools must take out student loans at an increasing rate to cover the costs (Owen and Sawhill 322). In contrast, the average cost of tuition and room and board for a junior college is $12,720 (“Average Published Charges”). Junior colleges may not be as prestigious in name, but that should not deter prospective college students from considering these schools as a viable strategy to save themselves money. In the long run, attending junior colleges is much more cost-effective than going to universities directly after high school. Although the cost of schooling is a large obstacle to consider, there are other factors that act as barriers to students attending four-year colleges.

Another roadblock some high school graduates stumble upon is that their academic history may not be acceptable to four-year colleges. Nevertheless, community colleges generally accept everyone who applies regardless of grade point average or courses completed in high school. As Liz Addison states in her essay “Two Years Are Better Than Four,” community college “unconditionally allows its students to begin” (366). What Addison is saying is that two-year colleges are the perfect starting point for individuals to explore new educational opportunities that they may not have considered before. These schools also offer safe environments for individuals to learn and improve as scholars. In addition, these schools provide programs uniquely catered to the success of students with disadvantaged backgrounds. For example, Riverside City College (RCC) has an organization on campus called “Transitioning Minds” dedicated to assisting formerly incarcerated individuals and other individuals negatively affected by the prison system in gaining meaningful skills, support, and education regardless of educational history (“Transitioning Minds”). RCC also offers “Extended Opportunity Programs and Services” (EOPS) to provide students who have disadvantaged educational or income backgrounds with the resources necessary for their educational success (“EOPS”). The most important part of community colleges is their unique potential to prepare students of all backgrounds for transfer to universities and impart them with skills essential for their success in higher education.

There are some people who graduate high school but do not feel ardent about continuing their education at the college level; one possibility for such individuals is apprenticeship. After high school, society seems to present young people with only two options: attending college or working in a “dead-end” or labor job. Although the public appears to not often advertise them as a choice, apprenticeship programs have the potential to advance members of society with hands-on training. Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, Alabama believes that the government should be doing more to encourage apprenticeships for not only blue-collar jobs but also other fields such as technology (qtd. in Hackman). In Germany, such a system exists, and Mayor Woodfin is correct in saying that the United States should examine and contemplate a standardized apprenticeship system more seriously. In fact, in Germany, only about two-thirds of people attend college. The remaining third of individuals elect to receive valuable skill sets related to their chosen field of apprenticeship. In the United States, seventy percent of high school graduates enroll in college, but only a scanty thirty-seven percent graduate after eight years (Hackman). Consequently, this is one alternative that would aid non-college graduates in increasing their earnings, so we must regard it thoughtfully.

Besides apprenticeship, vocational school is a feasible program to teach individuals specific trade skills. While there is an abundance of financial aid for traditional college students, our government and society seem to forget students enrolled in trade schools and vocational programs. College students can typically expect to have some type of financial assistance from the government and other programs. College students generally have the ability to take advantage of federal financial aid, tax breaks, useful programs through their schools, and many other programs; the value of all these various forms of assistance is about 150 billion dollars annually (Cass). Meanwhile, technical and vocational programs lack crucial funding to accommodate the recruits participating in them. In contrast with college financial aid, all aggregate monetary assistance offered to individuals in vocational school is only a paltry one billion dollars annually (Cass). This is an egregious inequity and disservice to not only trade school newcomers, but also American society, and we ought to rectify it. Vocational programs are essential and attainable for improving the career prospects of non-college graduates, so the government and high schools should legitimize their merit as substitutes.

There are some people who would even take the idea of supporting apprenticeships and vocational programs even further. In the article “College Isn’t for Everyone” by Oren Cass, he outlines that society seems to believe that “everyone can be a college graduate” but rightly acknowledges that this is not the case. In another article, “Should Everyone Go to College?” by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, even though they generally see college as a positive choice, they realize that it would be misguided to invariably prod all high school students into attending college (329). Furthermore, Cass proposes that there is more that the government and high schools can do to better accommodate students who would not be college-bound. For the same amount of money per student that we currently spend in taxes each year, our high schools could instead offer two years of traditional high school, a third-year split between a vocational program and subsidized internship, two more years split between subsidized employment and employer-sponsored training, and a savings account with $25,000 (Cass). This approach is novel and ingenious, and it would certainly better prepare high school students for the workforce in vocational fields without consuming their time on needless college planning. Indeed, our society would be irresponsible if it did not consider ideas like Cass’s to adapt schooling to incorporate more workforce training.

For a school shooting to be defined as such, it must be an act or attempt at first-degree murder involving two or more victims on a school’s campus. The horrible and tragic event is something we sadly experience in our life. It really is a shame that something like this happens and young lives are lost because one felt the need to end their lives via a school shooting. School shooters can and have been carried out by many different races, ages, and genders all across the world. A school shooter is not just one categorization, it is made up of all sorts of individuals who feel it is necessary to shoot and kill their peers. It’s a sensitive topic to talk about and a tragedy to even report. Young and innocent lives are taken by those fueled by hate, those who have been bullied by their pears and those on a mission to make this world we live in a living hell. A lot of research and studying have gone into this topic, trying to figure out what goes through the shooters head, why did the shooter take out those that he did,

There are different locations and places that a school shooting can occur at. Secondary school, college and adult shooters. School shooters all have different mindsets; traumatized shooters typically were abused as children, psychotic shooters tend to suffer from a mental disorder, and psychopathic shooters feel justified with their actions and feel like they are doing society a favor by doing the actions that they did. (space .M, 2016)

Olweus defines bullying as being victimized when one or more students expose him or her over time to negative actions. Trying to identify adolescent males at risk peer bullying will require time, more attention to detail, and being educated more on signs shown when an adolescent male is being bullied. Studies conducted within the article written by Reuter-Rice reported that those who were victims of bullying shows a lack of social and emotional adjustment to society and oftentimes have difficulty making friends and experience a greater loneliness than most others would. One reason why some students are victims of bullying is due to their sexuality. Back in 2002 the National Mental Health Association conducted a survey 760 adolescents from the ages of 12 to 17 and 78% of those teens who believed gay were teased and bullied at school because of that. Not a lot of research has gone into the study of the family of the bully and the victim of bullying in terms of understanding the potential causes of male violence (school shootings). The male adolescents who were victims of peer bullying had a close, positive relationship with their mother. There are four commonalities that might contribute to bullying behavior in boys; attitude towards the boy by whoever is the caretaker, open-mindedness towards aggressive behavior, emotional outbursts and the young boy seeing a bad relationship between both of his parents. Based upon multiple surveys that have been taken, students do not feel like school is really a safe environment to be in. (reuter-rice, K 2008)

School shootings rarely ever get ‘studied’ due to how rare and powerful the events are. Since that is the case, prior studies of school shootings are all based on and around the perpetrators motivation, their relationship to the victim(s), and the total number of victims that they have killed.

Violence, bullying and alienation that happen while at school have gotten widespread attention of reasons why the perpetrator feels like it is necessary to start opening fire on school grounds. Violent media, examples such as raging in movies and first person shooter video games have been ‘linked’ to possible reasons as to why a school shooting would occur. But, since 1980 the amount of violent media has gone up and the amount of school shootings has actually decreased since then. Although the amount of school shootings has gone down with the amount of violent media going up since the 1980’s, there has been a sharp increase in multiple victim homicides on school grounds (Agnich, L. E. (2015)).

Once a school shooting has occurred, the aftermath of one tends to raise a lot of concerns as to the motivation and the causes as to why this happened. Once the media has heard that a school shooting has occurred they are quick to cover the news, which although can be a good thing to get the news out there, it can sometimes lead to false assumptions as well as falsely stereotyping who a ‘school shooting perpetrator’ is or could be. Fritzon and Brun have conducted studies on factors that potentially lead up to school shootings such as the family environment at home, behavior aspects that caused them to ‘lash out’ and finally, the school environment that surrounds the perpetrator.

Leary (Leary et al. (2003)) believes that School shootings can be provoked by a real or imagined rejection or a relationship coming to an end. The three forms of rejection include teasing, ostracism (exclusion from society or group) and romantic rejection. A tragedy such as a rejection can spark an increase in aggression in those who feel like they are in a hostile environment.

Mental disorders have commonly been associated with offenders of school shootings. Mental disorders that have been associated with school shooting offenders are depression, personality disorder, lack of empathy, and suicidal. A school shooter dealing with depression is labeled as one who is hypersensitive to criticism, they are likely to anticipate rejection and they always seem suspicious to those around them. 28 school shooting perpetrators were conducted in a study and according to that study conducted by Gerard et al. (2015), 71 percent of the of the school shooters convicted of the act have been diagnosed with depression.

A study conducted by pellegrini (pellegrini et. al. 1999) has linked bullying victimization as well as violence in general to the perpetrator and the offender is often subjected to teasing, bullying and victimization at some point prior to the incident. School shooting offenders are often considered as ‘loners’. They have the feeling of sadness and loneliness along with that they feel like they do not fit in or belong anywhere (Ioannou, M., Hammond, L., & Simpson, O. (2015)).

Often times the child who pulls the trigger that ends the lives of his fellow teachers and/or classmates live a dark life and endures painful events long before the shootings occur. In 1992, a school shooting that occurred involved a 17-year-old high school student took the life of one of his teachers and a custodian who worked at that school. The 17 year old had a dark home life with his father having random episodes of physical violence and his mother was deemed as a mentally ill woman.

That same year another high school student, Eric Houston; killed his teacher and three of his classmates. Eric had endured painful home life from his abusive father. Eric’s father had become so violent with him that Eric suffered from organic brain damage. In 1997 Evan Ramsey shot and killed his principle and a fellow student. Evan had a father in prison as well as a neglectful, alcoholic mother. As a child Evan bounced around from foster home to foster home. Evan also got harassed by his fellow classmates; who loved to see him angry and rage. The three teenagers all suffered from a commonality of abusiveness and bullying which led them to make the decisions that they did which led to innocent lives being ended shorter than expected (Warnick, B. R., Johnson, B. A., & Rocha, S. (2010)).

Peer pressure can play a significant role in becoming a school shooter. Klebold and Harris were the two Columbine shooters who both had a negative impact upon one another. Together, those two threatened classmates, wore shirts to school that said ‘serial killer’, and together they spent over a year planning the deadly shooting at Columbine. Klebold and Harris were considered rejects by those who went to school with them, a Classmate of theirs described the Columbine as a ‘clean and good place minus those rejects (Klebold and Harris) most students did not want them here’ (Thompson S., & Kyle K., 2005).

Since 1998 school shootings in the United States have really gotten national media attention in regards to the increase of violence within our youth. With the increase of youth related violence that leads to school shootings; parents, teachers, and students all have a slight fear of showing up to school one day and a shooting breakout on their campus. The FBI started up what is called a threat assessment. With all the information gathered on male adolescents there are too many individual variations to truly get a distinct profile of who and what a school shooter is and can be. 71% of those who were convicted of a school shooting admitted to being bullied, threatened or injured prior to them lashing out and shooting up the school. (Reuter-Rice, K.2008)

Students are becoming more and more scared to be on campus with the amount of national media attention that school shootings get and how the next school shooting could happen on their campus. A quote from the Washington post ‘more than 187,000 students attending at least 193 primary or secondary schools have experienced a shooting on campus during school hours,’ those numbers alone are scary to think about, especially since this article was published in 2018 and many more shootings have happened since then. (Metuchen Vol. 58, Iss. 4, 2018)

Although crime rates in the United States are declining, it seems to most Americans that school shootings are becoming more of an occurrence than they actually are, on average only about 10 school shootings occur per year, which is higher than it ever should be to begin with. One factor that makes Americans believe that school shootings happen more than they do is the amount of time the media covers the event. School shootings, on average, last about 10 minutes, but media coverage on the shooting can go on for days, weeks, even months after the shooting. Researchers studied the effects of media coverage of school shootings on college campuses and it shows that the more media attention one pays attention to regarding a shooting, the more fearful they become and the more likely they will think that an event like that will happen again. (Jaymi Elsass, H., Schildkraut, J., & Stafford, M. C.2016).

The United States has a much higher school-shooting rate than any of the other countries. Between 1966 and 2008, 44 school shootings occurred in the United States whereas during those same years only 7 school shootings occurred in Canada and 7 school shootings happened all across Europe. Between the years 2013 and 2015 20,25, and 31 out of the 50 states had a school shooting occur, which sadly had increased every year within those three years. During that same three-year period the amount of school shootings increased, just like the amount of states a school shooting occurred in increased as well. From 2013 to 2015 there were a total of 154 incidents of a school shooting; 35 in 2013, 55 in 2014 and 64 in 2013. Male perpetrators did the majority of the school shootings that occurred during 2013 and 2015. (Kalesan, B et. Al. 2017)

Since the 1970’s shooting ranges have been put on notice as a place with a high risk of lead exposure. You can be exposed to lead at shooting ranges from when you fire a gun and airborne pieces from gun are released to the air and you inhale them. Exposure to lead primarily targets the nervous system and has been linked to disorders such as behavioral changes. A study conducted of 118 people (87 shooters and 31 archers) was conducted and it shows that the shooters had a significantly higher blood lead level (79.8%) compared to the archers (22.6%). This study also shows that blood lead levels were significantly higher in those who went to the shooting range compared to those who use archery ranges (Naicker, N et. Al. 2018).

On April 26th, 2002, armed with a pistol and a shotgun; Robert Steinhauser, a 19 year old student from Erfurt, Germany went back to the high school he was just recently kicked out of and killed twelve of the teachers who worked at the high school, two students, a school secretary and a policeman before he decided to take his own life. Violent video games such as “quake” and “Soldier of Fortune” as well as a collection of violent films were discovered in Steinhauser’s room following investigations in relation to the school shooting. Prior to the occurrence of the school shooting; Steinhauser’s academic performance started to get worse and worse along with becoming a member of a local shooting club, he even started to assemble his own personal weapons arsenal. Steinhauser’s devotion and interest in the first person shooting video games have been linked to the reasons Steinhauser’s troubles at school had started to increase.

Just about three years after Steinhauser’s school shooting in Germany; another teenager, this time armed with guns, knives, and homemade explosives killed one student, himself wounded 37 others at his former high school in Emsdetten, Germany. The student; 18 year old Sebastian B, was described by the media as a loner and ultimately did what he did to destroy as many lives as he could and take as many of those lives with him, the description composed by the media were compiled by writings that they found in Sebastian’s journals and internet postings. Sebastian described himself as having a happy life until he started school, as well as he felt like the only thing that he learned while in school was that he was a loser. Just like Steinahuser, Sebastian was linked to similar first shooter video games following investigations of his actions at his old high school.

Following the tragic school shootings sprees that occurred in Germany, the German government started to turn their focus towards violent first person shooter video games and their connection to the shootings caused by Steinahuser and Sebastian. Kretschmer both reportedly but an extensive amount of time playing the first person shooter video games and that suggests that these games had played a role in the actions that these men did. The perpetrators trouble life at home and the school induce violence plus the violent video games played is a recipe for disaster when it comes to a potential school shooter similar to Steinhauser and Sebastian. But, although Steinhauser and Sebastian both played the violent video games, they both could have been provoked for different reasons to make them want to shoot up their schools.

The German government has started to decrease the promotion violent video and computer games. An example of ways the German government has cracked down on promotion of violent video and computer games is that they have started to restrict the sales of violent games to minors and the goal is to completely ban the sale of violent games. German legislators created the protection of young persons act, which allows them to place restrictions on the selling of video games that can be deemed as harmful.

Despite how graphic and how realistic the first person shooter video games seem, psychologists and social scientists are split in regards to whether video games are responsible for violent actions that occur in real life. German government officials, political party members and some interest groups all noticed a similarity between the German school shooters and their love for first person shooter video games and claim that by them playing the first person violent video games caused an increase in aggressiveness when not playing violent video games. (Diamond, N. 2013). The case of Germany attempting to restrict access to online killing games is a step in the right direction.

Further research that needs to take place in regards to school shootings is ways to prevent any more of these from happening. There has been way too many school shootings that have not only happened in the United States, but all across the world.

Imagine being a junior in high school, starting your college search, and dreaming about what you want to do and who you want to be, and then you realize you’ve got it all messed up. Flashback to freshman year of high school, we finally made it. Having no understanding that high school is completely different from middle school, I am still trying to fit in. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself that being popular is not worth getting bad grades and slacking off. ‘Your future is what matters’ is something I wish I could tell my freshman-year self. I thought it would only get better from here but everything ended up falling apart. I lost all my best friends and I was accused and blamed for things I did not even do. Through the rumors I heard about me, I felt like I did not even know myself because I began to believe them. I always had anxiety and depression after my parent’s divorce, and when I lost all my friends, both of my mental health issues got worse. Panic attacks were a constant part of my nightly routine. Pill after pill to help the wandering thoughts that maybe it would be better if I ended my life right now so I do not have to live through this. Every time I let someone close to me, they always abandoned me, which caused abandonment issues, and I vowed to never let anyone in again. I was alone and trapped in a never-ending tornado of emotions. I wish I could have just moved on and not blamed myself for everything that happened because I was in a mental battle with myself. I made it through to the next step of my life, it was my junior year of high school, the year everyone says matters the most. It was time to put everything that happened in the past behind me and focus on making this year the best one yet.

The world never stops turning, and even if life hits you hard, you have to keep pushing through. This is my advice to freshmen in high school. The most important thing I have learned in my freshman year of high school is to never doubt yourself and who you are. Do not let what people say affect your views of yourself. I honestly am not good at following that motto though, I wish I could be better. I still compare myself to my twin sister, I still care about what people think of me, I am not proud of myself and my achievements, and the list of flaws goes on. I am not perfect, but neither is anyone else. I will always have to deal with my anxiety and depression, I will always have to take medicine every night, but I will always push through. I am not happy with how I was in my freshman year of high school, but that was just who I was and I have to accept that. You cannot change the past but you can write your future.

“An estimated 55.5 percent of all high school students play a sport (Jason Koebler). High school athletics refers to competition between other schools at the middle/junior high school and high school levels in the United States. The first athletic program was put in place in New York public schools by Luther Garlic in 1903. Over the next 12 years, 177 similar leaks were put together all over the United States. The purpose of these slow programs was simply to encourage a healthy strong body and strong mind through competitive exercises.

Although student-athletes have an increased risk of suffering injuries, studies have shown school sports provide great physical, mental, and academic benefits. Participating in athletics can be such an imperative part of High School. Taking part in high school sports can improve students’ overall health physically, academically, and socially. Although injuries can occur during sports the benefits outweigh the consequences. One of the main goals of high school sports is to improve students’ physical health. Additionally, another goal is the advancement of students’ educational responsibility in schools. School athletics should be contributing to the overall education of all students. Alternative goals of school sports logically follow from the educational responsibility of: citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, teamwork, respect, and health and welfare of all students not only during the school years but continuing into adulthood.

There are sincere bodily blessings while participating in excessive college sports, students exercise for 2-3 hours 5 days a week. High college Athletes are overall healthier because they spend their time exercising rather than watching TV or playing video video games. The fitness level of athletes in excessive school sports activities applications can’t be underestimated. According to a document from the National Federation of State High School Associations, a 2006 look at lady athletes found that when female students are given greater opportunities to participate in athletics in high faculty, their weight and frame mass improved. Not to mention, a 2001 survey observed that students agreed they would not spend as much time in sedentary activities like watching television and gambling video games if they had different alternatives after school (“The Case of High School Activities”). Therefore, while taking part in excessive college athletics in place of playing video games at domestic, college students work often which improves basic bodily health. Health advantages have a predominant gain whilst it comes to high school sports. Furthermore, with lower rates of obesity, coronary heart disease, stroke, and most cancers adults who participated in high college sports remain lively. Exercise facilitates to burning of calories within the body decreasing the possibility of obesity. Heart muscle performance and endurance are enhanced, increasing its performance and reducing the risk of heart diseases. Exercise triggers the usage of sugar in the blood. Glucose is converted into electricity therefore balancing the blood sugars. Sports additionally help in the combat against most cancers and different lifestyle diseases. It can lessen the risk of essential illnesses, which include coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer by way of as much as 50% and decrease the threat of early death by up to 30% (Nguyen). Also, an active lifestyle is safer than a sedentary student shifting rewards from positive senses and much less idle time. This helps motivate and refresh students in an effort to do a whole lot extra than they commonly would. Physical activity also can enhance shallowness, mood, nice of pleasant and energy, as well as reduce the threat of stress, depression, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. It’s medically tested that those who do everyday physical interest have up to a 30% lower chance of despair and as much as a 30% lower danger of dementia (Nguyen). Exercising has so many blessings to a person’s health. Studies have established the bodily advantages that come with taking elements in excessive school athletics are numerous and provide for a tremendous lifestyle. Overall, participating in athletic programs can benefit college students’ physical health immensely. Although athletics commonly have an effective effect, when collaborating in excessive faculty athletics, injuries can be common. Across the United States over 1,000,000 injuries happened in high school sports activities. High school athletes account for an envisioned 2 million accidents, 500,000 health practitioner visits, and 30,000 hospitalizations annually. To date, the look at those injuries has been limited through the inability to calculate damage costs, compare results among groups, and generalize findings from small, nonrepresentative samples. As a matter of fact, at some point in the 2005-06 faculty year, researchers at a kid’s sanatorium in Ohio used an Internet-based records-collection device to pilot an injury surveillance gadget among athletes from a consultant country-wide pattern of U.S. high schools. This file summarizes the findings of that observation, which indicated that participation in excessive college sports led to a predicted 1. 1. four million injuries at a rate of 2.4 injuries in line with 1,000 athlete exposures (‘Benefits of Sports for Adolescents’). Sports injuries are constantly a gift danger to high school athletes. High faculty sports injuries can cause troubles which can lead to troubles later in life. For instance, out of all accidents in excessive school sports activities, the most arise in football and wrestling for boys and girls. An anticipated 1,442,533 accidents passed off among U.S. high faculty pupil athletes participating in practices or competitions for the nine sports activities studied. The ordinary (i.e., practice and competition) injury price in all sports combined becomes 2. Forty-four accidents in step with 1,000 athlete exposures(“Sports Related Injuries” 1038). Additionally, soccer had the highest harm price of 4.36 injuries in keeping with 1,000 athlete exposures accompanied via wrestling with 2.50, for boys and 2.43 for women, 2.36 for soccer, and girls’ basketball became 2.01. Boys’ basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball each had damage prices of less than 2. zero injuries in keeping with 1,000 athlete exposures (‘Sports Related Injuries” 1038). The chance of sports accidents for a student-athlete is something that can’t be denied. Many college athletes get injured every year and can suffer from those accidents gravely.

Although the risk of injury is prominent the blessings outweigh the risks. High college college students have numerous social benefits while partaking in athletics. Participation in high school activities is a valuable part of the standard excessive college experience, improving college students’ faculty engagement and experience of belonging. Moreover, an exam of information from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health showed robust proof that college extracurricular sports have been positively associated with children’s friendships, each assisting present friendships and developing new ones. Friendship ties were much more likely to exist among hobby participants at the same time as controlling for different friendship processes. The authors cited that extracurricular activities provide settings inside schools that are uniquely poised to sell friendships, as they may be usually voluntary, secure settings that allow kids space to interact and have interaction with their friends (“The Case for High School Activities”). Students who participate in sports also build near friendships with others in the group; those relationships are sensual to intellectual emotional and bodily well-being for the duration of excessive college years. Students tie together a shared love and the time they spend together in exercise and games. In addition, when engaging in excessive college sports, students construct self-confidence and self-esteem. To illustrate, in 2002 Beckett Broh, an assistant sociology professor, published an examination that concluded that taking part in athletics helps college students carry out well academically all through high faculty extra than every other extracurricular interest. Student-athletes gain developmentally in phrases of building self-confidence and vanity and the potential to problem-solve; they increase socially in that they construct relationships with college students and teachers and dads and moms that may act as resources for them in terms of their academics (Thomas). Partaking in athletics exhibits the way to paintings with different human beings and work closer to a common goal. According to Hummel’s findings “Life, like sports activities, is not continually a person competition. Student-athletes paint toward a commonplace goal. They start to recognize how their attendance and performance influence the relaxation of the crew. They also ought to find their region on each crew and comprehend that they cannot continually be the leader, now and again they need to play a more supporting role” (Hummel). In sports, it’s a necessity to collaborate with different crew participants to win. To achieve education, a pupil wishes to work hand in hand with instructors and fellow college students. Employers are inquisitive about hiring employees who can work collectively with different employees to obtain a not-unusual goal. Teamwork competencies are amongst other necessities to secure a good job. In sports, it’s miles a need to collaborate with different team contributors to win. To achieve education, a scholar desires to paint hand in hand with teachers and fellow college students. Employers are interested in hiring employees who can work collectively with different personnel to achieve a common goal. Teamwork skills are amongst other necessities to secure a terrific job. Above all, the social blessings implement one of these significant a part of intellectual health due to athletics in high school. Students who participate in excessive college athletics could have better educational outcomes than students who don’t take part in excessive faculty extracurricular sports. Overall excessive college athletes have better educational effects including higher grades, better achievement take a look at scores, and better educational expectations beyond high school. As a result, North Carolina excessive school students who have been athletes and non-athletes in a GPA 2. ninety-eight for athletes vs. 2.17 for non-athletes and a graduation charge of 99.4% for athletes vs. 93.5% for non-athletes (“The Case for High School Activities”). Teammates and coaches of high college athletes act as proposals to scholar athletes to excel in developing a successful skill in the sport and in the classroom, athletics inspire students to succeed. With this notion to play comes the notion to work difficult which athletes prove because of these statistics. High college athletes below maximum situations excel in academics in comparison to nonpupil athletes. According to Coach Hummel, ”Participating in athletes inside the RIIL needs students-athletes are students first, requiring them to excel in the classroom first and now not handiest be in faculty, however on time […] I do know, that having coached volleyball for this long at Narragansett, each unmarried one of my senior-athletes has graduated on time” (Hummel). Sports assist in improving the cognitive and memory function of the brain. After spending numerous hours in class, a student needs a while to refresh their mind. Sports-active college students are top students in academics. Sports build their ability to concentrate and attention in class. When taking part in athletics, high faculty college students are much less probably to drop out. 96% of dropouts in 14 college districts in seven regions of the nation have been no longer collaborating in an athletic program. Kids who participate are more likely to stay in the faculty and be greater successful. Athletics aids college students in so many factors in their lives whether it’s instructional or something else. Consequently, the educational benefits are clear whilst taking part in high school sports. Sports participation can improve management and social skills for college students’ future lives. Sports assist youngsters in acquiring higher life abilities, those who play competitive sports activities in high faculty have more self-belief, self-respect, and management skills in their destiny careers. The Women’s Sports Foundation has said that female excessive school athletes are 80% less probably to turn out to be pregnant than non-athletes (Youth Sports in America). Students who are concerned with high school athletics generally tend to make more responsible alternatives because they’re taught life abilities, work ethic, and social capabilities all through sports. Sports help children acquire higher life skills, folks who played aggressive sports in high college have extra self-belief, self-respect, and management talents in their future careers. In addition, A survey of people at the level of executive Vice President of seventy-five Fortune 500 companies showed that 95% of them played sports in excessive school. While it might be tough to argue that sports activity participation could guarantee higher incomes, promotions, and higher jobs, the leadership capabilities and improvement of teamwork, hard work, and backbone might help put together students to be leaders at paintings and in their groups later in life. (Youth Sports in America). Playing sports activities offers students an advantage in excessive school and after. These scholar-athletes who participated. Women who played sports activities in high college have a decreased risk of getting pregnant at a younger age than nonpupil athletes, which can enhance their future careers. Also, the Women’s Sports Foundation has stated that woman high faculty athletes are 80% less likely to become pregnant than non-athletes (“High School Athletes Gain Lifetime Benefits”). Students who are worried about high college athletics generally tend to make more responsible selections due to the fact they may be taught life talents, painting ethics, and social capabilities during sports activities. With this in mind, athletics can advantage of humans’s usual careers and destinies. As a result, students’ destinies and careers are even benefiting from excessive college athletics. High school and college students can have a brighter future due to their academics. High-faculty athletes have a tendency to have a better GPA than nonstudent athletes. While a few can also worry that time away from studies will adversely affect scholar GPAs, the common GPA of a high college athlete changed to 2.84, whilst a scholar who doesn’t take part in sports had a mean GPA of 2.68 (“Youth Sports in America.”). Receiving a higher GPA can bring about going to an admirable university and open the gate to a destiny career. Additionally, Women who participated in high school sports activities have a multiplied chance of graduating from university. In fact, an observation post in 2007 on some long-term blessings of sports activities showed that gambling on a high college sports activities team accelerated a young woman’s probability of graduating from college with the aid of 41 percent (‘High School Athletes Gain Lifetime Benefits’). Student-athletes are advocated through their teammates and coaches to succeed. They develop a competitive nature both in the sector and within the classroom. Participating in sports facilitates an increase in a peace ethic whereas most children will go home and be lazy after faculty. Which can and will improve usual fitness. Students who partook in athletics all through high faculty have a danger to excel in the enterprise global. Furthermore, they are better at setting goals and managing their time. Women in particular advantage: one look determined that 82 percent of female executives said they played prepared youth sports activities and 60 percent agreed that sports participation gave them a competitive edge inside the commercial enterprise international (Nguyen). Student-athletes are taught a way to engage with every different and on their own. These talents are essential specifically for the aggressive global that they will no doubt one day take part in. Across the country, many ladies who participate in sports activities have a better danger of living extra successful lives. In brief, pupil athletes’ achievements can gain their destiny careers and lives.

Taking component in excessive faculty athletics can offer physical, social, and academic benefits. Athletics can be such an imperative part of college students’ college experience. Even even though the danger of injury is an issue the advantages really outweigh the risks. Participating in excessive college sports activities can offer amazing physical health with a decreased risk of several diseases inclusive of most cancers, weight problems, and heart disease. It also can offer better social abilities and train the way to expand relationships. Lastly, it can affect academic performance in this type of positive way. To conclude, taking part in high college athletics can lead to the sort of brighter and happier life

Introduction

The Oxford Dictionary defines teenage pregnancy as the pregnancy between girls ages 13 to 19. It is a global problem that has prompted numerous campaigns and public awareness efforts to reduce its prevalence. The number of adolescent pregnancies has been continuously increasing all over the globe. Like many Asian countries, the Philippines is also grappling with the same problem. In research from the Philippine Statistics Authority, The National Demographic and Health Survey (2013) stated that one out of five Filipina girls had already given birth or had their first child at ages 15 to 19. As a result, the Philippine Government shall resolve the said issue in collaboration with other aid agencies.

Teenage pregnancies are frequently linked to concerns of social development, such as the lack of adequate education and poverty. This often leads to single parenting, creating circumstances that cause moms to become negligent. As a result, they will experience a social stigma in many parts of the world.

In a study made by UNESCO (2012) entitled “Sexuality Education in Asia and the Pacific,” sex education is defined as the programs and approaches that include life skills education, family life education, HIV prevention, and adolescent development education. Puberty, teenage health, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and reproductive health are all being addressed in this discussion. It aims to give children and other people adequate knowledge to make conscious and respectful choices regarding their relationships, sexuality, and physical health, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a study conducted by UNESCO in 2018, entitled “Why Comprehensive Sexuality Education is Important?” improving young people’s knowledge and attitudes regarding sexual and reproductive health and behaviors are the benefits of sex education. It does not affect the rates of sexual activity, risk-taking, or the incidence of STIs and HIV infection. The programs that focus on delaying sexual activity are effective. Sex education programs can result in positive outcomes such as delays in the initiation and reduction in the frequency of sexual intercourse and an increase in contraceptive use and other positive sexual behaviors that prevent adverse outcomes (UNESCO, 2012).

According to World Bank data, teenage pregnancy rates tend to be the lowest in European countries such as Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. Their approach to sex education proves pragmatic, as they place less emphasis on sexual risk and focus on teaching sex as a regular, healthy, and positive behavior. The United States, on the other hand, tends to teach oppressive and attentive stories. Many states rely on a temperament-only curriculum that prevents students from learning about pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Because of this, the government should note that this is not necessarily a causal link between sex education policy and the birth rate of teens, still, all students should be entitled to a piece of clear and comprehensive information about it.

As stated in the DepEd Order No. 31, S. 2018, the Department of Education has implemented Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in the Philippines at the elementary and junior high school levels. The implementation of CSE is limited to regions 1, 7, and 11, which have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country (CNN Philippines, 2021). It is a curriculum-based process of changing knowledge and information between an educator and student about many aspects of sexuality, such as cognitive, emotional, and social (UNESCO, 2018).

Young people are still receiving confusing information regarding relationships and sex, which leads to more demand for reliable information that can prepare them for a safe and fulfilling life. The CSE aims to enable the youth to decide objectively about their relationships and sexuality. Having low-quality sex education may cause vulnerability to harmful sexual behaviors among children and youth. (UNESCO,2018)

The increasing pregnancy rate among teens is alarming to the government, and people should pay attention to it. Having Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) in some country regions is not enough. The need for more profound knowledge about sex and its other aspects should be recognized. In this study, the researchers will know the perception of senior high school students in Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital – Educational Institution regarding sex education and its implementation as a subject to the Philippine educational system under the senior high school curriculum.

Statement of the Problem

This research will study the perceptions of the senior high school students of Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital – Educational Institution regarding sex education and its implementation as a subject to the Educational System. Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

What is the importance of sex education to the Philippine educational system?

1. regarding the practice of safe sex;
2. the proper use of contraceptives; and
3. the prevention of HIV and STDs

1. 1. How does the perception of SHS students affect the implementation of sex education as a subject?
   2. How will the implementation of sex education affect teenage pregnancy rates in our country?
   3. What recommendations can be drawn from this study?

Significance of the Study

The outcome of this study may yield important information. It would be a great help to know the perceptions of Senior High School students from Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital – Educational Institution regarding sex education and its implementation as a subject in the Philippine educational system. It may also be beneficial to the following:

For the students, to know the importance of sex education and how it will help prevent teenage pregnancy in our country. The outcome of this study might also encourage and motivate students to be more knowledgeable about sex and to know the importance of Sex Education in this generation.

For the parents, this study will give them knowledge about students’ perception of implementing Sex Education as a subject in our Educational System. This study will also help the parents plan and help them discuss the importance of sex education to their children.

For the government, this study will give them ideas to make possible changes or reforms to the education system of our country regarding the implementation of sex education as a separate subject. Completing this study will serve as a guide for the government to find more solutions to said issues in our country.

For society, this study might be of great help, for it may identify the perceptions of Senior High School students in having sex education as a subject inside their curriculum. Whenever highly commendable research is produced shortly, society will benefit from it.

For future researchers, this study can help future researchers gain perceptions from the results of this study. They could use this as reference material for a more comprehensive investigation.

Scope and Delimitations

The coverage of this study is the perception of senior high school students of Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital – Educational Institution regarding sex education and its implementation as a subject in the Philippine educational system. This study aims to know how the perceptions of senior high school students can affect the performance of sex education in the educational system in the Philippines. The study will include the importance of sex education and its possible positive outcomes if implemented.

The study is limited to the perception of senior high school students about sex education and its implementation in the educational system. The respondents will be limited to all female and male senior high school students of CLDH-EI ages 15-19, as comprehensive sex education has already been implemented for elementary and junior high school students. Responses recorded will be further analyzed to understand the students’ perception and to know the importance of sex education in the Philippines.

Definition of Terms

To present the key concepts and terminologies essential to the study, the terms were defined according to their technical and functional meanings.

Contraceptive. A type of device or drug that prevents someone from getting pregnant. (Collins Dictionary) In this study, it refers to a device that is used during sexual intercourse to avoid teenage pregnancy.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It is an infection that attacks the immune system and weakens our body’s defense against many diseases and some types of cancer. This disease can be passed on from the exchanges of different types of blood fluids from individuals who got infected with this disease, such as blood, breast milk, semen, and vaginal secretions. (WHO, 2021) In this study, it refers to an illness that spreads from one person to another due to the lack of sex knowledge and contraceptives.

Perception. It is an idea, belief, or image that you have because of the way you see or understand something; how you perceive things, especially with your senses; and the ability to understand the true nature of something. (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries) This study refers to the thoughts or opinions of Senior High School students about Sex Education and its implementation as a subject in the Educational System.

Puberty. It is when a child’s body starts to develop and gradually changes its body as an adult. The age for girls in puberty usually begins at the age of 11, while boys usually begin at 12. Girls tend to develop breasts and start to menstruate, while boys grow a deeper voice and facial hair. (NHS) In this study, it refers to teenagers being mature and open about sex.

Sex Education. It is the act of providing information about sex, sexuality, relationships, skills-building, and the physical development of a person. It also helps young people able to communicate about and make the right decisions regarding sex and their sexual health. (Advocates for Youth) It refers to a subject that will help teenagers get more profound knowledge about Sex and prevent teenage pregnancy.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). These are diseases that can be passed through sexual contact with another person like vaginal, oral, and anal sex. There’s also a possibility to spread through other contacts, like heavy petting. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021) This study refers to one of the causes of unsafe sex and one of our country’s most serious health problems.

Teenage pregnancy. A teenage girl who becomes pregnant is typically between the ages of 13-19 or someone who still hasn’t read to adulthood, which varies in other countries. (BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth) This study refers to one of the most serious public health problems for teenagers, being parents at a young age because of a lack of profound knowledge about sex.

She asked to meet in her car at a park she used to go to all the time while she was in high school. It was nearing dark when I went to sit down next to her in the passenger seat of her car. She asked me to remain anonymous and use a fake name while writing this essay; so we decided on the name “Elisa”. Elisa is my age, 18, and has dark eyes and dark hair. I had asked her in advance about the subject I wanted to talk about: what defines you as the person you are today. After casually chatting for a bit, I started the conversation on the subject and she began to explain.

Elisa explained, that as much as she hated high school, she knew it was a necessary experience to shape the person she is today. “Freshman year was the worst year for me,” she told me. “It went very downhill before it went up.” She went on to explain more why freshman year was so bad for her. During that time, she was sexually assaulted multiple times by a junior she went to high school, and she didn’t even realize she was sexually assaulted until years later. “It took me a while to realize it wasn’t fully my fault,” she mentioned. “I would always have flashbacks of those times and it honestly took me a long time for those to fully go away.” In the midst of all of this happening, she picked up self-harming. “I thought making my pain physical to try to replace my mental pain would make me feel less shitty,” Elisa said. During freshman and sophomore years, she coped with her sadness by cutting herself. She told me she remembered when her parents finally found out. It scared her to death, knowing that her parents finally knew what she was doing to herself. After that, she stopped for the most part.

“Now here is the part my parents don’t know and will never know about,” Elisa said to me slightly laughing, but with a painful tone. The junior and senior years were a little bit different. She started to get more anxiety and had been diagnosed with ADD. Instead of self-harming, she was trying to cope in other ways: alcohol and drugs. She knew they weren’t good, but she wanted to do them anyway. Elisa picked up drinking every weekend and spent the money she had to buy weed. Although she didn’t do hard drugs, she got really into psychedelics. “I remember the first time I took LSD,” she said. “It felt like a dream in the moment but the comedown was truly horrible.” She told me that even after that mixed experience, she did it again. “I just wanted to see if anything I did would mess with my brain,” she slowly said. “I was playing a mental roulette with my brain; I was just waiting to get mentally fucked up.”

Senior year was coming to a close and Elisa finally got some help. She started going to therapy and was prescribed the right medication for her ADD. The drinking and drugs started to simmer down. She finally got a job in fast food and started making decent money. “As much as I hated working at a fast food place, it honestly kept me in check,” she laughed. Currently, Elisa is saving up for a car and making plans with a friend to get an apartment soon. She is going to college full-time and mostly focusing on her future now. Based on her life right now, she is happier and more stable. “I know I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I’ve learned from them and grown,” she said with a smile

It’s already dark now when she finally wraps up everything we talk about. As we sit in her car, Elisa says, “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without high school. As much as I despised it, I learned so much. My bad experiences helped me prevent more bad decisions in the future. I’m grateful for all the things that happened to me.” She said this in a reminiscing tone, and I knew she was thinking back on everything she told me. After that, I hugged her and left.

On average teenagers are missing out on 10 hours of sleep per week due to having to start school early in the morning. This means that they are missing out on vital sleep which can lead to serious consequences such as limiting their ability to listen and concentrate forgetting important things such as names and homework dates, a lack of sleep can also contribute to many skin problems such as acne. It can also cause teenagers to become more aggressive towards friends, family, and teachers. Their diet is also affected, a lack of sleep can cause teenagers to eat unhealthily which leads to weight gain. Obviously, education is still very important and teenagers still need to be taught for around 6 hours a day but I think that starting school at 10 am would improve teenagers’ mental health mental and physical, increase their productivity levels and thus improve their exam performance.

Firstly, a teenager’s body clocks work differently for adults and younger children, as they are unable to fall asleep as early meaning that they go to bed and wake up later, so it would surely make sense to start school at 10 am. Research findings featured in a National Sleep Foundation article show that teenagers have irregular sleep patterns on weekdays because neuroscientists have found that teenagers don’t begin to feel sleepy until about 10:45 pm, with their brains, not fully awake and attentive until between 9 am and 10 am so having them in school and in lessons, before teenagers are completely functional is absurd.

Starting school at any time before 10 am also really affects pupils’ sleep habits because it takes around 54 minutes on average for them to properly wake up, so many teenagers will arrive in school lethargic and unfocused because the average bedtime for UK teenagers is 11.30 pm, which is, assuming that their school starts at 9 am, not enough time to properly rest and wake up in time for school. Not only would starting school at 10 am work better with the teenager’s body clocks it would also help with the teenager’s mental health. Many scientific studies, such as Harvard medical school have shown that lack of sleep has a direct link to many of the leading mental health problems that plague teenagers today. Sleep deprivation affects both your psychological state and your mental health, various studies like neurocore’s have shown that up to 90% of people suffering from depression also suffer from some form of chronic sleep disorder.

One study, in particular from Anxiety Disorders that those with insomnia are four times more likely to develop depression than those who do not suffer from it. Depression causes a lack of concentration, and trouble remembering and retaining information all of these being skills that are used in school every day. A study by Donna Littlewood of the University of Manchester shows that if those suffering from depression have a short sleep duration or poor sleep quality are more to wake up with suicidal thoughts. Lack of sleep also causes students to be more anxious and stressed which not only affects their ability to cope with exams and school work but can also make someone physically unwell, a sickness which means that the student will miss out on important lessons and vital information that they will need to go to in order to get a good grade.

Stress can also lead pupils to stop trying and putting in less effort which will lead them to start failing classes. Lack of sleep can also have a massive impact on exam performance. If you do not get enough sleep you tend to react slowly which might mean pupils are unable to make fast decisions under the pressure and are therefore unable to complete the exam meaning they will get a lower grade. Students are more stressed out if they have less sleep which affects their ability to cope with the pressure of exams meaning they won’t achieve what they are capable of because they are too anxious and they cannot focus on studying for the tests. The fact teenager’s brains aren’t fully alert first thing in the morning means that they are unable to obtain the knowledge that they received in morning classes which can really affect them when in exams as they cannot remember this knowledge or they need to spend more time going over this out of school which takes away from revising other topics as they need to learn these ones again.

Pregnancy among teenagers has been a global social, economic, and educational problem among developed, growing, and underdeveloped countries. Our country has a limited study about teenage pregnancy and sex education. That’s why we conducted this study to find out what the possible rules, considerations, or policies the public school in San Carlos City can give to these kinds of students to avoid dropping out of school and continue their studies even in their difficult situation.

Some teenagers stop going to school when they find out that they are pregnant. They are more willing to stop hiding their pregnancy and avoid being bullied at school. Teenage pregnant student suffers from bullying in a way their schoolmates have a different reaction to their pregnancy. Parents still encourage their teen children to still continue their studies and support them in all the way they can. As parents they play the important role of being a health educator, they are the role model in influencing the young people with their attitudes and behavior.

One of the problems faced by schools hoping to support pregnant teenagers is the attitude that assistance is tolerating their pregnancies. Morning sickness and regular doctor’s visits for check-ups may cause absences for these students. That’s why some of them are hesitant to continue their studies because of their condition. The school wants these students to be successful, they don’t want to send a message to other students that being pregnant during adolescence is a good option.

Teenage pregnancy compromises the development opportunities of young girl which hinders their formal education resulting in unemployment and being unproductive making them vulnerable to violence, crime, poverty, and social exclusion. With the help of every school, the student may still continue their studies and reach their goals. If the school has these policies and procedures to protect their teenage pregnant student then they would be one of the assets of every student to continue until graduation.

The poor academic performance of teenage mothers has also been one of the reasons why teenage mothers drop out of school. Therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and its associated factors among school adolescents in public schools in San Carlos City to avoid dropout.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the readiness of public schools to accommodate pregnant to avoid dropouts in San Carlos City.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following:

What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of?

1. Age;
2. Sex;
3. Civil Status;
4. Year Level;
5. Family Income

1. 1. What are the possible rules that can be enforced at school to protect these teenage pregnant students?
   2. What are the considerations schools can give to these teenage pregnant students?

Significance of the Study

This study will be conducted to find out the readiness of public high schools in accommodating teenage pregnant students to avoid dropping out in San Carlos City, Pangasinan. It will also be conducted to know the policies and considerations of every public high school in dealing with their teenage pregnant students.

This study will benefit the following:

• Pregnant Student. It helps students to gain insight into their situation so they can become aware of the policies and considerations of the public high schools once they are accepted as students.
• Guidance Counselor. Research findings and observations will provide them with relevant data that can be used for counseling interventions.
• Administration and Faculty. It provides information to promote a deeper understanding and support of the plans related to student mothers to help them cope with their situation. It can be an eye-opener for them to implement roles and regulations regarding these kinds of students.
• Future Researcher. They will broaden their knowledge of the experiences and challenges facing students’ mothers, increasing their motivation to continue their studies even when they are in very difficult situations.
• Parents. The results of this study will help parents of the respondents learn more about how this public high school will accept teenage pregnant students.

Scope and Limitation

This study focuses on the readiness of the public schools to accommodate teenage pregnant students to avoid dropping out in San Carlos City. This study covers all the Junior and Senior High School Students of San Carlos City S.Y 2018-2019. The respondents of the study were composed of 50 randomly selected Junior and Senior Principal, Guidance Counselors, and Teachers which comprise 25% of the total population. The results of this study are applicable only to the respondents of this study and should not be used as a measure of the effect of the mentoring program on the students who do not belong to the population of this study. The researchers considered working on this study to find out if there’s an effect on the accommodation of teenage pregnant students in the public schools in San Carlos.

The respondents of the study are the Juniors, Seniors, principals, and Guidance counselors of Turac National High School, Bolingit National High School, Tandoc National High School, Speaker Eugenio Perez National Agricultural School, and Cobol National High School.