Mental Health and Moral Literacy

     Mental health has been a major discussion point for the last decade or so, with initiatives such as Bell Let's Talk (2016) which strives to get Canadians talking about mental illness, breaking down the barriers associated with it and raising money for mental health research. Understanding mental health is a major step that Canada is trying to take so teaching our students mental health literacy is a step in the right direction. But the main issue people ask is why should we learn this, why is it so important? The answer to that is simple and direct, mental illness costs the Canadian economy $50 billion a year, as well it has shown that one in five Canadian citizens go through a mental health issue at some point in their life (Bell Let's Talk, 2016). These stats alone show why it is important to not only learn about mental health but also become mental health literate. These issues still persist because we refuse as a society to accept that mental health is a disease and that it is not "just someone being sad". Making our students mental health literate will help the future generations critically think and understand that mental health is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Retrieved from: http://healthymindscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/bltd-logo-1024x306.jpg

How to Make our Students Mental Health Literate 
     This literacy can easily be incorporated and taught in the health section of physical education. Much like media literacy, when I was in high school mental health was not properly taught. The teacher was uncomfortable with the subject and it was only briefly talked about; there were no in depth discussions, no information for outreach programs or even any learning on the subject, it was simply just another concept that we knew we had to learn for the impending test. In my future classrooms I will be teaching mental health in a variety of ways. Firstly, bringing in someone who has struggled with mental illness to guest speak is a great way to introduce the concept and get students to realize that this happens to normal people and that it is nothing that should be associated with a stigma. After that, class discussion would be beneficial in order to further get students thinking and analyzing mental health and the impact it has, (this can go had in hand with media literacy if you look at how the media portrays it). Finally, I believe that using class time to have students group up and research various common mental illnesses to present them to the class would be beneficial for them to learn about them as well as to reduce the stigma associated with them. One issue in incorporating this literacy may be the hesitance from students to learn the content however once they are involved and their own built up stigma about mental health is broken down they will become more willing to learn and become critical of mental health and how they can help reduce the stigma themselves. Creating an open and inclusive environment will be crucial in getting students to both feel comfortable and willing to learn the subject so this is also an important aspect that I will have to generate in my class.

     I have also generated this blog post to discuss moral literacy. A literacy that I did not think much about in my career prior to my fourth year in university. This literacy did not stand out to me before because it is used in everyday life, simply making decisions and the knowledge behind those decisions never really registered with me however now I know that it is just as important as the other literacies that are being discussed. Becoming moral literate allows individuals to make ethical decisions and judgements in various situations (Tuana, 2003).

How to Make our Students Morally Literate
     For me, I believe that working on moral literacy in physical education can be hard, it is tough determine activities that can be completed while at the same teaching students about morals and their decisions. When I look at the health aspect however I can begin to create questions that so hand in hand with the other literacies being taught in the course; for example "is it moral for food companies and media outlets to portray food and the human body the way they do?" Questions such as these can be implemented in a variety of exercises and begin to get students critically investigating morals what what they believe is right or wrong at the same time that they are investigating other questions as well. I believe that this is a good way to get students thinking about morals and digging deeper into them in a health class. As well, sport specific examples can be brought up periodically when things occur. An example would be "was it ethical for him to hit the opponent from behind, why was his judgement to go forward at hit him?" Questions like this also get the students investigating the situation and their thoughts on it. Finally, instances with steroid use (Lance Armstrong) can be discussed with students in regards to why he took them, if it was fair to the other competitors, was it ethical? This can relate to media literacy (how the media portrayed him) as well as moral literacy, students are able to uncover for themselves and think critically into instances and determine if the actions were moral or ethical.

References 

Bell (2016). Bell Let's Talk. Retrieved from: http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/ 

Bell (2016). Bell Let's Talk: Let's end the stigma. Retrieved from: http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/end-the-stigma/facts/

Tuana, N. (2003). Moral Literacy, Penn State News. Retrieved from: http://news.psu.edu/story/140744/2003/05/01/research/moral-literacy