New Trier is in the midst of a very long third quarter, absent of any breaks due to the ongoing construction.

This lengthy quarter has brought about the discussion of mental health days or an absence from school without physical illness.

“A mental health day is when [students] are feeling like the demands of the expectations of work or school are overwhelming to an extent to where somebody needs times off to decompress and relax,” Alexander Zilka, social studies teacher and adviser, said.

While many see the benefit of the occasional mental health day, others note the trends that can be produced by these days.

“I think mental health days are a slippery slope because on one end mental health days fall under healthy living and balance; on the other end of it, we are trying to teach young adults to have a good work ethic and to be resilient when not all things are going great,” NT social worker and adviser Andrew Gomberg said.

The prevalence of students taking mental health days also brings up issues of students’ schedules.
“I would hope that school wouldn’t be an environment that is so demanding that students need time off to decompress. Given how much students take on it’s not surprising to me some students would want to take mental health days,” Zilka said.

Junior girl’s adviser Chair, Patricia Sheridan shared Zilka’s concerns about over-scheduling.
“Students are so over-scheduled that they are forced to sacrifice things such as school time in order to maintain their mental health. This should not be the norm.”

Many teachers indicated that there are other ways to combat stress other than taking time off of school.

“When a student has difficulty managing their lives and their academic expectations, the first step should be communication with teachers,” John Burnside, science teacher and adviser, said.
Not only is missed class time a concern on teachers’ minds, but so is resilience, “We have a lot of students who are not building resilience, avoiding or being overly dependent on someone else taking care of them,” Gomberg said.

Though many teachers have concerns surrounding the prevalence of students’ taking mental health days, they do acknowledge the lack of breaks students are facing this year due to the construction.
“I think students right now are definitely stretched to their limit regarding schedules,” said Burnside.
Along with the lack of breaks, the competitive nature of New Trier also takes a toll on students, according to junior Hannah Litchman.

“Mental health days are important because we are under a lot of pressure and New Trier is a very fast paced environment. It is easy to get drained and mentally exhausted.”

“Consider not taking a mental health day when you’re really anxious and wishing you were somewhere else. It’s not really conducive to your learning experience,” senior Amanda Wong said. “It’s like working out, you don’t run ten miles without taking a break at some point.”

Though many students recognize the benefits of mental health days, many have not taken one themselves.

“I believe in mental health days; however, I would never take a mental health day because of the amount of school work I would miss,” junior Alex Vlahandreas said.

Though students are the ones taking these mental health days, it is their parents who allow them to miss school. A ‘mental health day’ is not a viable absence, so it is by the discretion of parents that allow these students to take days off.

Kimberly Boscow, mother of junior Liza Boscow, said, “I would allow my child to take a mental health day if I felt it was warranted.” Boscow continued, “It’s hard because when we were growing up the term ‘mental health day’ didn’t exist. I never considered a mental health day until I saw how stressful and exhausting [my children’s] lives are.”

No matter the parent opinion, school personnel find the prevalence in mental health days concerning.
“The reason I am a little hesitant is because I don’t want our school to become a place where mental health days are an expectation,” said Zilka.

“We want our students to be happy and healthy,” said Sheridan, “I do realize students are under pressure and need a break, but these breaks must be within a boundary.”