Is education about coping?

[Karen A]

As I hope you would, because I never suggested I was capable of any such thing... What I did say was a logical conclusion, based on the observation that if school made children genuinely suicidal, and alternatives to school attendance (other than truancy) weren't widely available then suicide would have been something regularly witnessed in schools 30 odd years ago. But it wasn't.

Again, with no reference whatsoever to the specifics of any individual parent's experiences, an accommodating, normalising, rationalising response to emotional blackmail will reward and perpetuate it.

And again, sorry if it sounds flippant but I do think it is extreme to talk about children 'wishing they were dead rather than having to attend school' as an emotional top trump in a thread about education. Your response, in fact, makes my point for me - that any counter argument offered will be viewed as inappropriate, judgemental or critical.

 

If we want to talk about mental health issues - which suicide and threats of suicide are - then that's a 'mental health' discussion. Rephrasing the title of this thread - Is education about coping?' we could ask 'is 'coping' part of education?' and I would say yes it is.If asked the question 'is mental illness/suicide part of education?' I would answer no - other than in the sense that mental illness will be something that some school age children will experience.

 

What I meant about children not experiencing the world in the same way as adults is more than just my opinion: it is a widely acknowledged psycholigical 'truth'. Adolescents tend to think of themselves as somehow 'immortal' or exempt from death. While they may know, intellectually, that it is a permanent thing they do not have a full conceptual or emotional understanding of it, particularly with regard to their own deaths.

 

L&P

 

BD

 

Oh - paraphrasing the original title again - 'is education about coping?' Yes, in part I think it is and should be. Is life about coping. Yes, in part it is and always will be. And school - all aspects of childhood in fact - should be preparing children for that.

 

I have read detailed research into the issue of teenage suicide 30 oddd years ago.

It is widely acknowledged that suicide generally was grossly under reported at that time.This had nothing to do with the fact that it did not happen.It had everything to do with the stigma attached to the issue.

Most coroners would if at all possible record any other verdict than a suicide verdict.

A suicide verdict would prevent the family having a christian burial,bring huge shame and leave the family believing their relative had gone to eternal damnation.

A family may never talk about the issue with those closest to them.

I know of cases where grandparents,brothers and sisters were never given details.

It was very common for the death to be reported as an accident.

 

This was thirty years ago when AS did not exist and all children identified as having SEN went to segregated schools.

 

Fortunately in most sections of society there is a little more tolerance now,

I worked in depth with a CAMHS psychotherapist for three years.

He works full time with people who are considered at greatest suicide risk.

I am fully aware of his views on the issue.

As he has trained and worked for years in an extremely specialist field he is an expert.

Teenagers do think of themselves as exempt from death which can lead to serious risk taking.

They also have often a very immature view of things and have little idea of the long term consequences of what may be very short term actions.

These two things together make for a combination of factors which make teenagers specifically at risk of suicide.

If you do not wish to trust the account of one of the experts in the field who has the very difficult job of conducting risk assessments on very vulnerable people and taking the flack if he gets it wrong I can I am sure access some solid research for you on the subject.

[call me jaded]

Baddad your use of language in this thread is close to baiting other posters. I have gone back and checked the forum guidelines which say that the moderators will err on the side of caution, so I am now closing this thread.