Donahue presentation focuses on social media use, relationships
Crowded hallways, cramped classrooms, chaotic assemblies. Many students face these battles every time they walk into the place they call school. No matter the personal struggles students face at home, they must walk into school the next morning with a smile on their face and deal with anxieties of everyday life.
Mike Donahue, a motivational speaker, visited Summerland Public School, Jan. 23, to share his insights with students, speak on the topic of mental health awareness and address struggles students face in everyday life at home and school. Donahue stated he started his program, Value Up, in 2001, knowing the pressure that teenagers experience everyday. He has spoken at more than 2,500 schools and conferences and talked to approximately 2 million students during his career, equating to 100 presentations annually.
Donahue made a lasting impression in teenagers' lives. Instead of preaching about the dangers of social media and drugs, he relates to students on another level.
He stated, “Ranting doesn’t get through to teenagers. I get frustrated sometimes that adults treat students like they are stupid. I think the best approach is to be honest and tell the whole story. My feeling is that behavior follows belief. If you want behavior change, you have to get the belief to change.”
Connecting with students on a deeper level is one of Donahue’s goals. He believes in putting effort into knowing what is going on in the lives of teenagers, as teenagers are constantly changing. The world is not the same as it was when many students’ parents, or even Donahue, were young, and goals need to be changed to target what students are truly going through.
Throughout his presentation, he made students understand that he knew, if they rely on drugs and alcohol, they weren’t doing it just for fun, but because they are trying to numb the pain they feel.
Not only did Donahue talk about mental health and drug prevention, but he made sure students knew about an issue that hasn’t gotten the true spotlight it deserves, relationships. Many junior high and high school students are facing problems with relationships throughout their entire educational careers. Young women and men are stuck with partners who treat them with disrespect, as their brains are still developing, and they aren’t learning the proper way to treat their partners. Teenagers tend to stay with their significant others, as they don't know how they should be treated.
“I watched disrespect in relationships in my personal life with my mom and sisters. They accepted a love they thought they deserved. They got the message they weren’t very valuable and they attracted men who saw that and took advantage of it. When they saw their true value, they stopped accepting men who treated them that way,” Donahue said, when asked why it is important for students to know how to learn their true values within a relationships.
To help students connect to the speaker, the “Summerland Advocate-Messenger” reached out to students in grades seven through 12 and asked them to submit questions they may have for Donahue. Many questions addressed issues about substance abuse, mental health and relationship struggles.
Toward the end of the assembly, students were asked about backing up their classmates. Seniors went to the front of the gym and stood behind a classmate. Then, they were asked if they would support one another in a hard situation. Other classes followed. Students were asked to turn around and hug someone they had talked poorly about. Gasps were heard, and hesitation occurred for a brief moment before everyone turned around.
Although extremely awkward, peers said they were able to forgive each other and apologize for things they may or may not have known about.
This activity continued beyond the assembly and hugs were given all day at school and for the remainder of the week.
According to a student survey, a large number of students wanted to let Donahue know he made a difference in the students' lives, and they walked out different people.
One student stated that many speakers act like they are just there to get paid, but Donahue cared about the students.
Students who have more questions about how to reach out for help when they are struggling with hard times, can view his website, http://www.mikedonahueconnects.com, which addresses issues students may be facing. They may also reach out to him on his website with any concerns.
Students who are going through a hard time, remember to connect to their friends. Upperclassmen, teachers and staff are available to offer support.
Crowded hallways, cramped classrooms, chaotic assemblies. Students who face these struggles every day in school may seem like they are happy while hiding what is going on at home behind their smiles.
Donahue said, “The best piece of advice that I could give would be to fight mentally for your true value. Fighting means filtering the negative thoughts that seem to dominate us sometimes. Most of the messages we have received about our value are wrong.”
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