As a society, we are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of mental health. We are realizing how many aspects of modern society affect our mental health, and how teens are affected by their own unique challenges to mental health. OVS takes these issues seriously and is dedicated to the well-being of our students. Here are 5 ways enrolling with OVS can help you maintain good mental health.
1. Learn from the Comfort of Your Own Home
There really is no place like home. Luckily, e-learning allows students to learn from home, with all the comforts and advantages that come with it! It’s no secret that school can be stressful. With online learning, you can at least take comfort in the familiarity and safety of being in your own environment as you wade into unknown educational waters.
Another great benefit of learning from home? No commute! With no stress about transit delays or horrible morning traffic, the 2-minute commute to the ‘office’ lifts a huge mental weight off – for both students and their parents! Instead? Hit the snooze button again or spend some time making a delicious breakfast to get your brain going!
With the rapid spread of COVID-19 and resulting precautionary measures, surrounding yourself with hundreds of peers on a daily basis poses risks no school is willing to take. When you learn from home, you choose who you socialize with, when, and how. And, in the event of widespread school closures like we’re seeing right now, your education won’t be disrupted – allowing you to keep at least one aspect of your routine consistent through these uncertain times.
2. Move at Your Own Pace
Every student is unique, with their own individual strengths and needs. There is always at least one subject that is more challenging than the rest, and it can be incredibly stressful to struggle with content in a class filled with students who encourage the teacher to plow on through. On the flip side, being a strong student in a class moving slowly can cause you to lose interest in the subject altogether. At OVS, students are free to move through a course – or individual lessons – as slowly or as quickly as they need, without risk of stigmatization from peers. Complete a course in as little as four weeks, or take up to one full year – at OVS, the choice is entirely up to you!
3. Control Your Schedule
At OVS, you have the freedom to control not only how quickly you complete each lesson, you also get to decide when you complete each lesson. Studies show that schools start too early for the majority of teens, causing many students to lose out on precious sleep, which further impacts both their mental and physical health, as well as their learning and grades. With OVS, there’s no 9AM bell or call home for late arrival. Learn at whatever time of day works best for you!
Another great advantage to self-paced learning is that you can pause, resume, or replay lessons at any time! So, if you don’t have enough time to complete an entire lesson all at once, there’s no cause for stress! While it is a good idea to create a study schedule when learning from home, you don’t have to worry if something comes up and that schedule needs to change. Learning from home is all about finding a healthy school/home balance, which is essential for good mental health.
4. Reduced Social Pressures
For many students, the most stressful part of school has nothing to do with academics. It’s an unfortunate truth, but, for today’s youth in particular, it is an undeniable one. Being thrust into an environment full of hundreds of same-age peers comes with social pressures that can often detract from a student’s ability to learn, and take a significant toll on their mental well-being.
Learning from their own home minimizes the social anxiety, peer pressure, and bullying high schoolers experience. While cyberbullying remains a significant concern for modern students, families, and teachers, studies show that most bullying occurs at school, or on the school bus. Social issues, like bullying, can cause students to mentally or emotionally withdraw from their education, sometimes avoiding it altogether. These kinds of issues not only distract students from their learning, they have detrimental effects on a person’s self-esteem, social interactions, sleeping and eating habits, as well as their overall mental and emotional well-being. For many students in these kinds of unfavourable situations, the ability to learn online, away from negative social pressures and influences, is crucial to both their academic success and overall well-being.
5. FREE Supporting Mental Health Course
To help any student who needs it, OVS offers an entire course dedicated to supporting good mental health practices. And, because we recognize that private school fees may not be accessible for everyone, but good mental health should be – this course is offered to anyone who wants to take it – 100% FREE.
OVS4O – Supporting Mental Health is designed to help students understand what mental health is, and how to develop and maintain positive mental health so they can be successful both in high school and in life in general. In this course, we teach students important life skills, such as self-management and crisis prevention. We’ll also help build strategies unique to life in our modern world, discussing issues such as how to protect yourself on social media and how to deal with and avoid cyber bullying – topics that are increasingly important to the mental health of today’s youth.
Encouraging and providing for good mental health is an integral practice for all students, families, and schools. At OVS, we employ caring and supportive teachers and a dedicated student success team comprised of administrators and guidance counsellors to ensure all our students feel supported and prepared for success, even at a distance. What to learn more about how OVS designed our school model to maximize the unique advantages of learning from home? Check out our story, here!