Module 2 - Blog 2
Ed.Psych. AEDU203
Ed.Psych. AEDU203
I was
feeling apprehensive one particular evening as I was getting everything
together for my return to work from a six week leave of absence. My second child had been born and would be
going with me the next day where I worked as the director at a day care
center. The evening took a drastic turn
of events when I heard my oldest child vomiting in the toilet. She was 16 at the time, and I suspected she
had the flu. As I tucked her back into
bed, I spotted a pill on the floor, and then another a few inches away. Immediately I questioned my daughter and asked
how many she had taken. She told me
about 80…..
Our
textbook, in chapter four, states that 10% of adolescents have attempted
suicide at some point, but even more have considered it. It goes on to explain that suicide often
comes as a response to life problems-problems that parents and teachers
sometimes dismiss.
As a parent,
I missed all the signs of my daughter’s attempted suicide, and as an upcoming
teacher, I never considered this area as one that I would have as part of my repertoire
in getting to know my students……until now.
It makes
sense though, to be aware of the many warning signs which include eating or
sleeping habits, weight, grades, disposition, activity level, or lack of
interest in friends or activities that were once fun. Giving away important items and verbalizing
things like, “you won’t have to worry about me much longer”, missing school,
and not doing required homework are also telltale signs.
My daughter
had taken to her room and become resistant in getting up to go to school. I knew moving away from her home town,
friends, and school would be hard, but I never considered it to be so traumatizing. After a couple months stay in a facility and
a year of intense therapy, my daughter was able to lead a happy and normal life,
but she was one of the lucky ones.
From
The
Parent Resource Program, I read some startling statistics that each day in
our nation there are an average of over 5,400 attempts of suicide by young
people, grades 7-12. WOW! As a teacher, you better believe, I want to
be better at knowing what all of the warning signs are. Our textbook also discusses that a feeling
many kids shared who attempted suicide, was that no one cared enough to ask them
anything even when the teacher, parent, or adult suspected a problem. As teachers, it is imperative that we take
our students seriously. The Myths and
Facts table about Suicide on page 147 also states that suicide is the third
leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24. Sometimes children under 10 die by
suicide. My antennae is now fully loaded as a teacher assistant, and for the future when I become a teacher.
Beth,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear about your daughter; however, I am glad she survived and was able to get the help she needed to resume a normal life. I couldn’t imagine what you went through as a mother to see your daughter in that state. When I worked at Edward Hospital I sat with kids who had attempted suicide for a variety of reasons. The pain and anguish in the parents’ faces just broke my heart. I could never imagine going through that as a parent. The youngest child I had ever seen that attempted to kill herself was a 10 year old. The girl came from a broken family and they were basically homeless. Social work was involved and they were trying to get the family back on their feet. It saddens me so much though. When I was 10, I don’t think I even knew you could kill yourself. I thought the only ways to die were if you got in a bad car accident, got real sick, if a “bad guy” killed you, or when you got old, and at the same time when I was 10 I wasn’t facing the problems this young girl was facing. Just a couple weeks ago, my little cousin’s acquaintance, 12 years old, hanged herself.
Suicide is such a problem in this world. Many kids don’t have the coping skills needed to survive. There are many factors that contribute to that. I think one reason is that now most families have two working parents and many kids are left to fend for themselves. Kids are facing adult pressures and being forced to grow up sooner than they should be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for kids being taught responsibility and having chores, but kids shouldn’t have to be adults. Another reason I think kids lack coping skills is because we live in such a technology driven world and we isolate ourselves. No one talks to anyone anymore face to face, especially kids today. Everything is text and facebook messaging. There have been times where I won’t tell my friends things because they’re conversations I need to have in person. I’m having a bad day or going through a hard time and I want to sit with my friend and talk about it and cry about it. I don’t want to text about it, and maybe kids today feel like that sometimes, so they just hold it in. People can only hold so much in before they crack.
Suicide is a major problem in the world. So many people are affected by it. I will never forget when my mom got the phone call that her best friend from high school had successfully hanged herself. My mom, sisters, and I were laughing, having a blast. My mom answered the phone and mine and my sisters’ laughter was silenced by my mom’s blood-curdling scream and tears.
Suicide does so much more than kill one person. It affects all your loved ones and a piece of them dies too.
As a teacher, it is extremely important that we look for signs of severe depression and suicidal ideation in our students, at all age levels. Look for students who are giving their possessions away, saying things like “I won’t be a problem much longer,” being withdrawn and isolative. Be aware of any situations at home as much as possible. Also, a key sign to look for – one that can be deceiving – is a student who has been very depressed and suddenly seems happy again. This sudden change in moods can indicate they have formulated a plan to kill themselves and are happy “it will all be over soon.”
Beth,
ReplyDeleteAs a parent I can think of nothing worse than your child trying to kill themselves. I am so glad that your daughter came through the ordeal and was able to lead a happy and normal life. I know that suicide is a big problem with children today. I think that they do not have the coping skills to manage through the tough times in their life. I also think that the decline of the family unit has also contributed to children suicide. When I was growing up, we had dinner together almost every night and had my grandparents over for Sunday afternoon dinner. My family would sit around the dinner table and talk about our day at school. Now it seems, dinner is driving through a fast food restaurant and eating in the car. Parents do not have time to talk to their children and listen to what their day was like. They do not even know what kinds of problems are going on in their children's lives. I completely understand that both parents need to work in today's economy. Somehow you have to bring a balance into your children's lives and make family time.
When my children were growing up, we went to church together on Sunday mornings and tried to have at least 3-4 dinners together as a family. It was not always easy because of sports schedules, school activities, etc. but we felt it was important to connect as a family. We also tried to instill in our children that we were always available to listen to any problems big or small. We also felt it was important o tell them that we would love them no matter what they did or happened. I am not a perfect parent by any means but I do believe that our society has made it hard to have family time. Their are so many demands placed upon parents and students to keep up with everyone else.
As teachers, it is important to look at all aspects of our student's behavior in the classroom. If they are acting different, or not showing interest in things or having behavior problems in the classroom their may be underlying causes. Changes in their mood such as depression is another outward sign of trouble. It is important that we are aware of these things and act on them if we see the signs. Suicide affects everyone who knows that child; their parents, siblings, teachers, friends, etc. Everyone feels some sense of guilt and is left to wonder why they did not see it coming. We must all be diligent and keep our eyes open and talk to our students if we suspect a problem. Beth, I believe that this heart breaking experience will make you a caring and compassionate teacher. Thank God it all turned out positive for your family.
Beth,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I am very sorry to hear that both your daughter and yourself had to go through such a difficult time. I am very happy that your daughter is okay and is now leading a normal, happy life. Those statistics from the Parent Resource Center are shocking. An average of 5,400 attempts from 7-12 graders each day? This is 5,400 too many, and they are so young! I wish we could find a way to tell these children no matter what they are going through someone is here for them, that nothing is worth hurting themselves over. In order to do so we must be aware of the signs and symptoms first. As teachers we especially must be able to do this. Our jobs will include much more than teaching. Whether we believe students should or not, they will still come to school with outside problems. It is our job to be there for these children. We serve as their role models. We can prevent many of these situations by being the first to recognize the signs.