In this section, Prof. Arthur Bahr describes his motivation for allowing each student (and himself) one Mental Health Day over the course of the semester.
I first want to be clear that this accommodation is only a supplement to the important resources provided by Student Support Services. That said, my own mental health policy was building for a good while before it became reality. I have low-level anxiety and depression, so I’ve navigated a version of that landscape all my life. I love teaching—it’s why I became a professor—but it demands a lot of energy, and sometimes, when I’m not in a good place, I just can’t make myself get in front of a classroom. It always felt shameful to admit that, so I would lie and say the problem was physical rather than psychological, cancel class, and call it a day.
But the longer I worked at MIT, the more I saw how many others deal with mental health issues: students, staff, and faculty alike. So once I had tenure (key caveat!), I decided I would be honest about what was going on the next time it happened. That time came in the fall of 2017, and it was really scary to tell the students the truth, but they were overwhelmingly supportive; it was very moving. I think it’s pedagogically appropriate, too, since my classes are trying to teach students how to deal with the real world, and part of dealing with the real world is knowing when and how to ask for help.
So now everyone can now miss one day of class without penalty as long as they write me a simple email: “I’m taking my Mental Health Day.” Most semesters, most students do so. I think they all get different kinds and degrees of benefits from that—as do I—so I try to build one free/flex day into my syllabi in case I need to cancel class, for whatever reason. If everything runs smoothly, there’s always plenty to do in a bonus class period!
