Ethan Stern-Ellis

3382 Bancroft Street

San Diego, CA 92104
esternellis@hightechhigh.org
March 9, 2015
Abe Correa
2855 Farragut Road
San Diego, CA 92106
Dear Mr.Correa:
As I am sure you know, there is much stress that is put on teenagers. This stress is partially caused by their high
school education. I believe that our students, especially freshmen, should be given the option to take a course on
time management and emotional health to help them create good habits to help reduce this problem.
Stress is evident in kids throughout our country. A joint study done in the fall of 2013 by NPR, the Wood Johnson
Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health shows that out of 1,368 parents or guardians, 38% said that
their 9th-12th grade child experienced stress. Furthermore, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that
19.2% of Californian youth reported needing help for emotional or mental health in the 2011-12 school year. Keep
in mind, these are only reported cases. Many students feel that they cannot get help or that it is not an issue.
However, I know it is because one of those statistics who struggled was my sister. She suffered from trying to take
on too much work and eventually she burned out. This was from stress and I believe it could have been prevented. It
was late at night when she broke down. She was crying from the amount of work she had and my parents took her
books away to make her get some sleep. When they did that it was as if they were taking her life away. I remember
this day vividly as it has greatly impacted me. I believe this could have been prevented if she had the proper tools to
be a successful and strategic learner.
A solution for our students to problems like the ones my sister faced is to take a modified version of the college
course that is used in the San Diego Mesa College called Personal Growth 120. This course teaches kids how to
successfully strategize in order to strengthen their academic success. It discusses key areas like motivation and
attitude, goal setting and decision making, techniques for enhancing their abilities to succeed as lifelong learners,
and many other important topics. Taking the initiative to start early in teaching these habits is key to setting up
students for success.
Sincerely,

Ethan Stern-Ellis

Link to college course program: http://www.sdmesa.edu/students/services/counseling/personalgrowth/