Mental health and its impact on students, especially regarding attendance, is not focused on enough in school. According to a poll conducted by The Red ‘n’ Green, around half of the students that skip school do so because they felt too overwhelmed to come to school. 

While it is commendable to attempt to lower the rates of absenteeism, there is too often a focus on this absenteeism being a choice, or being the fault of the student. According to pmc.gov (public medical center), there are different types of absenteeism, one of them being school refusal; this term is used to describe students who have difficulty attending school due to psychological issues. All too often school refusal is mistaken for truancy, which is a result of defiance and compliance problems. 

The focus on mental health in school is not where it should be. Tests, classwork, and relationships with other students can put a large mental strain on students and prevent them from coming to school. The reprimand they get for not attending school due to these reasons only adds to the psychological distress they feel as well. This only exacerbates the problem instead of fixing the student’s attendance, since this psychological distress only worsens the student’s mental health.

In order to help truant students, there should be a larger focus on mental health and the impact it can have. Blaming the student for being truant when it is a mental health problem only worsens the issue and exacerbates the toll placed on the student, which will likely keep them from attending school. However, students struggling with mental health should take advantage of the resources available to them in school. These resources include their guidance counselors and the ability to make appointments with licensed therapists at school. Overall, The Red ‘n’ Green feels that there is not enough focus on mental health in school, especially for truant students.