The issue of student mental health has been one of my chief subjects in my writing for
Inside Higher Ed, so much so that my first exploration of the topic came before "Just Visiting" even existed, when I was still guesting at Oronte Churm’s digs.
Looking at that early post where I contrasted the tenacity and resilience of U.S. Olympians Ariel Hsing and Natalie Coughlin with the perceived fragility of students who were apparently shaken by routine academic demands, I see a person whose attitudes and beliefs around these questions is in transition.
The me who wrote that post in 2012 is related to 2021 me in significant ways. My critique is focused not on the students themselves, but on the cultural factors that were creating these high-pressure situations among college-bound students.