Since the beginning of this semester, GBN’s attempts to improve our mental health have been minuscule and have fallen short of making any significant change for our well-being. Teachers have promised to make learning easier and "lighten the load" which has been completely untruthful. Mental health has always been a struggle for students at GBN, especially since the pandemic started. The environment that GBN upholds consists of high pressure expecting outstanding results; however, the atmosphere created by GBN is detrimental to our wellbeings. Rather than keeping this, we need to change it, especially with a pandemic plaguing our society.

According to Joseph Wolpe, if deep relaxation is taught as a conditioned response to a feared object or stressor, people cannot feel anxiety simultaneously. So rather than pushing school harder and harder, loosen up the rules and teach relaxation.

 According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 80% of teenagers are stressed. Additionally, D225 has recently been named the best district in the nation; however, the students are still stressed, shown by many polls and questionnaires ran by Glenbrook Students. To indeed be the greatest district in the country, the students should be the happiest. 

In addition to the added stressors of school, the pandemic caused all of our mental healths to suffer, so Glenbrook North’s administration needs to take action and support our emotional wellbeings by not allowing finals to curtail our grades.

Many other major high schools in our area have canceled finals. Why should we not?

The list down below are high schools in our area with altered or canceled finals (subject to change and more schools to be added)

-Deerfield High School

-Adlai E. Stevenson High School

-Highland Park High School

-Barrington High School

-Evanston Township High School