THE CORE PROBLEMS
Below Average Test Scores
Lack of Respect for Teaching Staff
Poor Student Engagement
Low Levels of Self-Discipline
Each condition increases frustration for students and teachers. These challenges result in teacher turnover, decreased student attendance, and an average of 1.2 million American students dropping out each year. Students lacking mental and emotional resilience show higher rates of depression, suicide, and drug use. It’s disheartening to hear that a student’s inability to understand their emotions can have such drastic consequences, but Resilience is here to change that.
STATISTICS
Low Test Scores
According to Pew Research in 2015, the U.S. placed an unimpressive 38th out of 71 countries in math and 24th in science. Only 29% of Americans rated their country’s K-12 education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (known as STEM) as above average or the best in the world.
In-School Bullying
Roughly 28% of American adolescents in grades 6-12 report experiencing bullying, and 20% of adolescents in grades 9-12 do as well. Consequently, bullying escalates into sexual harassment, domestic abuse, depression, violence, drug use, decreased academic achievement, and criminal activity. These atrocities impact both bullies and victims. With today’s technological advancements, cyber-bullying has become an increasing issue in schools as well.
In-School Drug Use
Drug use affects adults and adolescents alike. A 2014 survey found that 21.5 million Americans aged 12 or older suffered from a substance abuse disorder. Additionally, the same survey revealed that 80% of those individuals also struggled with a mental disorder, showing that substance abuse often coincides with mental health challenges.
School Shootings
EveryTown for Gun Safety reports that 3 million adolescents are exposed to shootings every year. 2,700 youths are killed and 14,500 are injured by gunfire. Furthermore, about 60% of adolescent gun-related deaths (roughly 1,600 cases each year) result from homicide, many linked to domestic abuse, while 35% (roughly 900 cases per year) are suicides.
Depression
Depression extends far beyond simple sadness. Symptoms can include poor school performance, low self-esteem, defiant behavior toward authority figures, and a lack of enthusiasm, energy, or motivation. If these signs persist for more than two weeks, they may indicate an individual is depressed. In fact, 1 in 5 Americans suffer from clinical depression. Often, depressed adolescents struggle to understand or express their feelings, and they conceal their emotions from others, making it hard for loved ones to recognize the problem. For more information and statistics on depression, visit http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net.
School Assaults and Domestic Abuse
Some adolescents don’t experience bullying at school yet suffer emotionally and academically because of trauma at home. Statistics show that 1 in 15 children witness domestic violence perpetrated by an intimate partner each year, and 90% of them see the violence directly. Therefore, addressing home-based trauma is essential for improving student’s overall well-being.
Suicide
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, there is no single cause of suicide. Instead, it occurs when stressors exceed the coping abilities of someone who has been suffering from mental health challenges, hopelessness, despair, and other negative emotions. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.
A 2015 Youth Risk Behaviors survey found that 8.66% of 9th through 12th grade students made at least one suicide attempt in a span of 12 months. It also showed that girls attempted suicide more than twice as often as boys did (11.6% vs. 5.5%). Before the pandemic, an average of 132 Americans died by suicide each day. Although post-COVID numbers are not yet released, heightened stress and life disruptions suggest a significant increase.
If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, please know you are not alone. Call the 24-hour suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
Why SEL?
With US test scores ranking below 36 globally, depression growing nationwide, over 70,000 drug overdose deaths per year, over 44,000 suicides and over 15,000 murders. We also experience over 120,000 preventable deaths due to mental and emotional issues that can be reduced through a formal education in Social Emotional Learning. The United States needs to implement a formal, systematic approach to the root cause of these problems.
Most core problems are interconnected, and that addressing one will indirectly address them all. The central theme that connects these core problems is a lack of self-control, self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship management. Self-control, self-awareness, social awareness and relationship management are skills that can be acquired and developed by strengthening emotional intelligence.
