As the air turns colder and fewer light hours fill the day, students aren’t just dressing warmer – they’re preparing for the longest and most challenging stretch of the school year. Illness spreads throughout the crowded halls of Grand Ledge High School (GLHS), and the lack of sunlight begins to weigh on people more than they realize. Seasonal depression creeps up on them. Many teens in winter find themselves tired, unmotivated, and drained, yet are still expected to put in the same level of effort, leaving their mental health suffering. It’s time to acknowledge the real struggles that winter brings for students.
Kristin Halsell, a physician at the health center at GLHS, works with students who come in for a regular check-up, those who feel unwell, or who need a safe person to talk to. Halsell sees many sicknesses spreading around during the winter months.
“Upper respiratory infections, so things that involve a lot of sore throat, congestion, and some lower respiratory infections, where you set more into bronchitis and pneumonia, influenza virus, of course, is more common during winter,” Halsell said.
Being sick and missing school affects many students’ schoolwork. GLHS Junior Isha Singh is one of many students who become ill during the winter and have to stay home.
“I have three F’s right now because I missed three days of school,” Singh stated.
Missing school leads to missing assignments or tests. Getting behind on schoolwork gets in the way of getting work done and catching up. Trying to work on assignments at home will help out in the long run when returning to school.
“If they’re at home with a prolonged illness, if they do have some capacity to do like an hour or so of school work a day. It’s great if a family member can pick up the homework so they can work on it bit by bit because it can get overwhelming, and the kids almost feel like they need to avoid school because they’re already behind,” Halsell said.
Even as students who are ill try to catch up on work, others deal with demotivation and fatigue due to seasonal changes. Attendance and late work policies remain the same throughout the school year, even during months when seasonal depression is more prevalent.
“It would be wise if teachers notice that kids are struggling or low energy/low mood to encourage them and their parents to maybe have an evaluation; whether it’s at the health center or with a regular pediatrician, because there are treatments that can help,” Halsell said.
Winter often brings illness and seasonal depression; schools should not continue to overlook the impact it leaves on students’ mental health. Attendance will continue to drop, motivation will fade, and mental health will decline. It’s time to shift; students deserve empathy.
“2nd trimester is where people get burnt out the most,” Singh stated.
