The following is a story on one of our High School's newest courses, Mental Toughness:
Stress, anxiety, and challenges are a part of everyday life.
That’s why one teacher at Deer Lakes High School wanted to start a course that tackled those topics head-on.
“I wish I could tell students that stress would just go away, but it's not,” Mrs. Lauren Hedderman, a Health Sciences teacher, said. “So we're unfolding what is actually happening to our bodies when we experience these things and coping strategies on how to battle these things so to speak. I constantly make reference to 'real deal' experiences day in and day out when I teach. I want my students to leave Deer Lakes High School and start changing the world and that starts with themselves and their well-being.”
Mental Toughness was launched with about 70 students signed up for the first half of the school year, nearly two years after she came up with the idea in the third round of the interview process to be employed at Deer Lakes.
As one student put it, it is like a glorified health class.
“Administration had me create a class I would potentially implement at Deer Lakes High School if I were to be offered the position,” Mrs. Hedderman said. “I sat down and gave it quite a bit of thought. I thought to myself, 'what do I wish I would have learned or started to work on earlier?' My answer was stress, anxiety, and how to manage it.”
Now, students like junior April Neudorfer are benefitting from Mrs. Hedderman’s idea.
One of April’s favorite activities, she said, is progressive relaxation where the lights are turned off, students get on the floor, play relaxing music, and do meditation.
“I know there are people in high school that sometimes struggle with anxiety, depression and mental health, and this was a cool alternative to taking a gym class,” April said. “I think people are taking away, like I am, that you are never alone whether that deals with anxiety or stress and ways you can take coping methods and apply them in our own ways. I’ve gained a lot of friends in class and we’ve connected by discussing relatable things that we all go through. It starts with the way Mrs. Hedderman relates to us. She’s been wonderful.”
Most importantly, Mrs. Hedderman said, students should know it’s vital to put their mental health first.
“I'd like my students to walk out of here with a better understanding of why they feel the way they do, strategies to handle it, how hydration, nutrition, and physical activity play a part, and most importantly, I'm here for them,” Mrs. Hedderman said. “I'm just a small part of that. Students have a lot of people and resources in their corner at Deer Lakes, and I'm really proud to be a part of that.”