Suicide Prevention

So I was shocked to read the following:

"Hispanic and Black, non-Hispanic female high school students in grades 9-12 reported a higher percentage of suicide attempts (11.1% and 10.4%, respectively) than their White, non-Hispanic counterparts (6.5%)."

This is something you never get a glimpse of in the media.  

Depression and Teens

I am wondering don't we all have issues with depression in our teen years? It just seems to be the perfect time for it. You get acne, the person who was your best friend in 6th grade is no longer your friend in 9th grade because of your acne. I think the story goes a little like that, but not to trivialize it, the adults in teens lives need to be aware of the signs.

With all that is coming at teens--especially in our times--it is no wonder that so many of them have bouts with depression, never mind the pessimistic literature that often times they are required to read in school and life just doesn't get any better for them.

I think a way to prevent teenage depression, or at best counteract it is to redesign the reading curriculum and offer more stories of triumphs because right now these kids are getting a heavy dose of books with less than hopeful endings. While I'm not saying every story or novel they read end in rainbows, I am saying that their should be a balancing act. If we show kids they can overcome hardships through literature, they may be more inclined to believe they can. 

Ruby Payne: An Invisible Woman's Post on the Matter

"By doing so, Payneis perpetuating negative stereotypes by equating poverty with people of

color. Although there is a correlation between race and class, this does

not justify her use of racialized “case studies.”

Payne’s audience of teachers is primarily white, female, and middle

class, so their probable shared perspective makes it likely that such signals

will be understood as racial."

So Payne is saying that being African American, or non-white Hispanic is synonymous with poor? For all who are interested--especially Dr, Kimmons as we talked briefly about this--here is a video by Dr. Ivory A. Toldson, a professor of sociology at Howard University on how black male students are taught. Somehow this all registers the same with me.

At any rate, the article does go in depth in its critique of Ruby Payne's methodology that was not ethical and exposing her biases. The sad reality is that we all are oblivious to our privilege, whether it is regarding our race, class or gender. In my case, I am always responding to blogs that focus on dismantling racial privilege through dialogue, but I bet someone out there has felt that I was oblivious to their struggles because of class. If that makes sense.

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Video about School Reform

I really do not even know where to start, as I am sure that whatever I write will do the video from last night's class no justice. The short analysis which offered solutions, reminded me of the film Waiting for Superman. Schools are operating on an old factory model and students are the product on the conveyor belt to be stamped and placed out into society once they ride to the end of the conveyor belt. Never mind, schools do not do a real great job at tailoring the curriculum to the needs of its students.

You would think it would be just the U.S. undergoing an education reform, however, many countries are reforming their education system to respond to the growing changes and dynamics of the world. Now there is a need to educate and produce globally competent students who must learn to foster relationships with different peoples of the world. This is an exciting time--at least from where I sit.

Multicultural?

I am probably going to step on some toes with this post, but that is better than being a coward and not saying what I really think of multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is defined as "a movement whose goal is to elevate and celebrate diverse ethnic backgrounds." Of course I am aware that culture is not synonymous with race, but this would be a rather wordy and lengthy post if I focus on language, religion and nationality as well.

I think we should do a greater job in promoting multiculturalism in schools, that is, if that is what we truly believe in. No student should graduate high school without reading classics other than those by Shakespeare and Hawthorne. By that I mean, Chinua Achebe, Sandra Cisneros, Toni Morrison, An Na and the list could go on and on, but as of now, multiculturalism seems to be all talk in our public school system. The curriculum simply does not include everyone and it should.

Girls and Gangs

We all are aware of the presence of gangs in our public schools, but what is the culture of these gangs and why are young people tempted to join them--especially female students? There seems to be a cluster of factors that are as complicated as the list is long, but I want to focus on the emotional needs of girls and how this may lead to them joining a gang.

When teachers and adults alike think of gang, perhaps--if we are honest--the first thing that comes to mind is a group of young, virile African American or non-white Hispanic males, driving in old model cars, and wearing clothing that showcases their many tattoos. But what of girls? According the to chapter, girl gangs cause just as much social harm as their male counterparts. They can be violent, skip school and spend time in jail just like the males. They are also more prone to join gangs if they are from working class or lower income families, do not have a strong support system either in their communities, homes and schools. Peer pressure also plays a role and I am inclined to believe that just like males, female gang members join because they want protection from a rival more dangerous than themselves.

I think teacher should recognize the signs that are present when girls join gangs and they are a drop in grades and school attendance, hanging with the wrong crowds and becoming increasingly confrontational. It must be very scary to feel the need to join a group of people who engage in illegal activity just to feel a sense of belonging.

Teachers need to encourage these girls to become involved with community outreach programs and perhaps ally with their parents in helping the student get counseling.

Moral Development

Okay, so this reading truly seemed like Into to Philosophy and I had no real way of understanding many of the theories as I withdrew from my Intro to Philosophy class in undergrad. I will attempt to make sense of what I read in this post.

Human nature is basically good. We all have the capacity to do good in this life and understand when our thoughts and actions could potentially be harmful to others. Yet we do not always do what is in the best interest of others. I often wonder why, when we know our actions at times can cause chaos and like the ancient Kemites would call isft pronounced is-fit.

Had I not taken a number of African Spiritual Philosophy courses as a part of my undergraduate major, I perhaps would not have a clearer sense of what it means to respect all living things. Am I good at this? No, as I still swat flies, and other bugs/beings that fly and I find annoying. The good news is that I have become way more accepting of spiders. The classes taught me that every living thing has a purpose which either seeks to further life or recreate it.

So how does this all relate to moral philosophy? Well it has that ancient idea attached to it; Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Adolescent Emotional Development

We should take caution in labeling adolescents as too emotional. As mentioned earlier, the stress and storm is a natural fact of growing up and emotional and cognitive development in teens are entertwined.

Although we can expect for adolescents to experience highs and lows in the daily lives, research shows that those with a very good support systems (e.g. involved parents and other relatives, concerned teachers, school counselors, trustworty peers, and forth) can have a positive influence on the way they respond to their usual stressors of school work, navigating their social lives and dealing with peer pressure. These students with a cadre of parental and familial support are less likely to engage in risky behaviors.

If the adolescent does not have the support from parents and others, he or she is more likely to cave in from the stressor and engage in risky behavior. This is truly food for thought as it makes a world of sense. If you have people supporting you, you can excel and complete a daunting task such as grad school. But if you do not have some support, it can make the road a lot tougher or even scary. It is no different for a teenage kid trying to complete high school credits to get into college or trade or technical school.

Adolescent Emotional Development

It would seem that most adolescents are seen as emotional train wrecks. They are always on a roller coaster of emotions. During 6th period Language Arts, Aisha seems calm, cooperative and engaged. Yet 15 minutes before the bell rings, she is balling her eyes out over something that happened weeks ago? 

Are you kidding me? Typically this would be my response--if I had not already been in Aisha's shoes 16 years ago. So why are these kids so emotional at this age? What can teachers do in the event of an "irrational" outburst?

First, we (professionals) should recognize that although in our stage of development we would not handle things quite the same--  for the adolescents we teach--snap reactions and whirlwind reasoning is essential to their growth and development. 

What does all this mean? We should allow it. We should not force adolescents to be adults because they are not. When they have meltdowns--provided that it does not disrupt or impose physical harm on other students--we should just sit back, grab the popcorn and wait. Wait for the student in question  to let it all out. 

It sounds harsh, but we would be doing them a disservice if we simply coddle and baby them.

 Some days girls will be fly; other days they will cry.

 All in one day.

How Do Adolescents Develop?

Good question? I have often wondered what triggers the sudden highs then lows of an average 8th grade school girl. Consequently, what makes a high school junior want to race his parents car at the speed of 90 miles an hour on a dare?

According to some, the following behaviors are quite normal despite what logical adults like myself believe:

• Overly dramatic  "drama kings and queens" who will dominate my time from 7:30 am until 2:15 am five days a week, for at least 180 days of the year; if of course you go by the original school calendar and not the new balanced one.

• Arguing for the sake of annoying you.  
• Jumping to the most ridiculous conclusion.
• An overinflated view of self (e.g. do I look fat in this?; her dude is totally hitting one me, and etc.)

• Wanting to find faulty reasoning in the adults around them. 

Now don't get me wrong. I absolutely enjoy being around young people and helping them to learn and actualize their goals, but this will no doubt take a lot of patience and long suffering from a person like me. If memory serves me correctly, I too had these issues and I am sure my parents, high school teachers and mentors can attest to the fact that I was very difficult at this stage.

You see, sometimes I was like Draper's character Sassy!

Other times I was like the female version of Christopher John Francis Boone...

 Always going through my parent's things, trying to get the dirt on them! So like most adolescents from the age of 12-18, I had issues.

What I am most concerned about though is how this will manifest in the 9-12 classroom? I am not going to pull out Classroom Management 101 every time a teenager curses me out, calls me a name or refuses to behave. That is just unrealistic. Any suggestions.