Unmasking Mental Health: Why Being Brave Matters
At my own school, mental health wasn’t a subject on our timetable. If you wanted to take A’level Psychology, you were allowed to, but you needed to walk up the road to the local college for those lessons. Which to be fair was good for your mental health, walking 15 minutes each way to your lesson in the cold North Yorkshire rain. If you were feeling overwhelmed, the remedy was usually a brisk lap around the rounders pitch and a swift instruction to pull yourself together! Years later, when I trained as a psychology teacher, is when I really began to understand the complex inner lives of young people. When the opportunity came up nearly 8 years ago to set up the DP psychology programme at ISA, I jumped at it as I know how important it is to give students an opportunity to be able to learn more about themselves and the world around them. Throughout my career, I have seen time and again that regardless of where you are in the world, teenagers share a remarkably polished ability to wear a mask. They become experts at smiling and nodding while quietly carrying a mountain of stress underneath.
This week, we took a very deliberate step to help our high school students take off those masks as part of our social-emotional learning during community time. Connected to our Student Council’s chosen theme of kindness, we welcomed guest speaker Mike Scotland to campus. Mike, founder of manUP speakUP & Community cleanUP, spent years working offshore on drilling rigs; an environment not historically famous for open vulnerability. To see someone up on the stage talking to them who kind of reminded some of us of their PE teachers, but yet was sharing how terrifying that is, in such a calm, motivational manner was inspirational. The atmosphere in the theatre was electric; there were moments of laughter, followed by moments of silence as our students (and staff) leaned in. Mike’s final words reminded us all to be kind, and if you can't be kind, don't be mean. What moved me most was what happened after the applause ended: many students courageously stayed behind to talk to Mike and say thank you, taking a genuine risk to be brave, break the stigma, and realise that sometimes we don't really know what is going on underneath the surface for someone.
This experience aligns with our school mission to be a kind and inclusive community of reflective global citizens, where we nurture both personal wellbeing and academic ability. We believe that citizenship is the foundation of all education; students must feel secure in their community before deep learning can happen. I know I say this a lot, but that’s because I believe it; taking part in these non-academic experiences is invaluable, as it actively connects our students to our school values and the IB Learner Profile. Encouraging us all to be reflective about our feelings, caring towards others, and risk-takers who are willing to have courageous conversations about the tough stuff.
We are proud that our students feel safe enough to open up and talk to the trusted adults in our building. To build on the momentum of Mike’s visit, I sent a follow-up message to our high schoolers the next morning, reminding them that their mental health remains our top priority. I encouraged them to remember that being reflective, caring, and risk-takers means recognising when we need support and having the courage to ask for it. Whether it is their advisor, family member, counselor, Head of Grade, myself or any teacher they feel comfortable with, our entire ecosystem of care is here to listen and support them. If you have not yet heard about it, ask your teenagers about Mike’s visit over the dinner table this weekend, as we continue working together to foster a compassionate community where every child can thrive.
Note: manUP speakUP is a community to TALK, to HELP, to LISTEN and to SHARE, allowing members to become a part of the movement of eliminating the mental health stigma within the Offshore / Oil & Gas / Maritime and Energy industries.
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