Authentic Connections & Community Day Reflection

Hi guys! Welcome back to another weekly blog post. I hope your day has been going well so far 🙂 For this week, I decided to reflect on a very important community day our school held this past Wednesday. First, we went over the results of a school wide wellness survey the ENTIRE school took. For clarification, this survey was through Authentic Connections, whose philosophy consists of breaking down factors contributing to student mental health into three categories: peer interactions, parent interactions, and school climate. Personally, I really like this philosophy, especially because I feel it encompasses most of the interactions we have in our daily lives in a neat and tangible way. If I was to improve one aspect about these categories, however, i would add a category or subcategory that relates to extracurriculars or interactions outside of school. Next, the 11th graders got to participate in a fishbowl activity. This means that watched a group of parents discuss their opinions on meaningful topics, like drugs, bullying, and parenting style. Then, we as students held conversations about many of the same topics, yet with the parents watching this time. Finally, we participated in an activity relating to mixed messages—or conflicting ideas or advice we receive that cause cognitive dissonance— and finished our day up with a meeting about the college application process.

My Reactions:

Authentic Connections Survey Results— I was genuinely surprised by how much higher the current juniors’ levels of anxiety were compared to national averages. Even compared to the current seniors who took this survey their junior year, our results seem to be consistently more concerning in the majority of categories. I wonder why this is. Perhaps it is because we entered high school during the height of the Covid Pandemic, so our previous school year was the first time we experienced high school in person, everyday. Or perhaps the junior-class students have more people who feel immense pressure from their parents, peers, or school climate. Whichever the case, I am super interested in diving deeper about the causation. To explore this, I plan on going over the results individually with my content advisors, and potentially working with them to create my own school wide survey!

Fishbowl Activity: This was truly an eye-opening experience. Something major that I learned was how much effort it takes to be a parent! Not only are they worrying about their own lives, but they are constantly having to make decisions and handling conflict in their children’s lives. It really made me appreciate my own parents. Another thing I took away from this activity is that whatever our parents do or say, they are always trying to help us. This is something I have struggled with, because I feel like I am not able to talk to my parents when they are doing something that makes me stressed, angry, frustrated, or sad because they just want whats best for me. I don’t want to disappoint them, because I know they are trying their best. However, the fishbowl activity made me realize that they want my feedback. My emotions are not a burden, but instead a way to foster discussion about my life. This activity gave me an idea! Through my independent study, maybe I can help design a class discussion or presentation focused on teaching students about communication skills with their parents. This might include skills that help us recognize when we need to talk to our parents, how to approach that conversation with a calm and assertive attitude, and how important it is for us to share our emotions and voice our opinions.

Mixed Messages Activity—I did not even realize I was receiving mixed messages until completing this activity. Now I find them everywhere! At school, at home, even at my musical rehearsals. I believe that recognizing that they exist is the first step to begin sorting them out. I’ve also realized that these messages are created by our society as a whole, but reinforced by our school climate, parent interactions, and peer interactions. The one that stuck out to me the most was “don’t stress out when it comes to grades or college vs. we need to get good grades and get into a prestigious college.” I understand why both messages exist, but it is truly a challenge to accomplish both simultaneously. I recognize that at DA, we are doing our best to convey the first of those messages. However, I find that at a high-achieving school such as Durham Academy, the school climate tends to air towards the side of the second. The academic competition, emphasis on college/AP classes, and the sheer workload reinforce the second message. Through my independent study, I want to focus on ONE of these occurrences that contribute to this message. Hopefully I am able to pinpoint one through my own school wide survey!

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