The Ontario government is introducing a new education curriculum for elementary and high-school students that will make mental-health literacy mandatory for the first time.
“My family is obviously devastated by the tragedy,” she said in an interview. “We teach our kids a lot of things in schools. We teach them physical health education, we teach them sexual health education, we teach them first aid, history, biology. But we don’t actually teach mental-health literacy.” The Ontario government’s new learning modules for Grade 7 and 8 students and teachers will begin in September. The new curriculum, aligned with health and physical education courses, will include information on how to manage stress, understanding the relationship between mental health and mental illness, recognizing signs and symptoms of a mental-health concern, mental-health stigma, and knowing when and how to get help.
Ms. Pierre said she believes that by equipping students with the tools to understand mental-health struggles at an earlier age, they can grow into healthier adults.