Dealing with Teen Suicide

I know the topic of student suicide has been discussed in this forum before, but I would like to add my insight. Several years ago, Mandan High School went through a rash of suicides. It was about eight consecutive years that we had two a year (one per semester), just like clockwork. During this time, we held our breaths wondering who would be next and when the news was coming, because we knew it was coming. The streak finally ended, and we have only had a handful since. During and after this time, we have tried everything we can to get the message out that this is the wrong choice, talk to someone if you are thinking about it, awareness of the signs, etc. As a matter of fact, we reached a point where many students became immune to the message as overkill.

During this time, I became convinced that the best way to prevent suicide is to get the students involved. I have a very good rapport with my students, but the fact is that I am guessing that less than 10% of my students would come to me to discuss anything sensitive. I really believe that the hardest part of preventing suicide is that very few students feel comfortable going to a teacher, counselor, or administrator to discuss personal feelings or situations. When Bev Cobain spoke at our school, I attended with our juniors and seniors. When she asked how many know someone who is considering suicide, I was amazed that somewhere around 25 hands went up. I never would have thought there were that many at our school.

What prompted me to use this as my weekly blog topic is a story that was in the Bismarck Tribune on Tuesday. In Palo Alto, California, after the fourth teen suicide in less than six months, some of the students decided to take steps to stop the trend. They printed T-shirts that say "Talk to Me", signifying support from their peers. They have formed pacts not to commit suicide. They are leaving messages around the school to cheer up students, or call attention to the positive parts of life. They have created a peer-run support group. One student created a Web site to call attention to acts of kindness or positive actions by their students. These efforts are ongoing, but it will be a long, hard battle. For those of you out there that are also struggling with suicide at your schools I would encourage you to find creative ways to get the students involved in prevention. Working together with students will make the teacher more accessible and approachable, but having other students involved will increase the chance that students considering suicide will talk to someone - a peer in the least.