I blogged on a crisis almost two weeks ago that the Surgeon General has just taken on. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy warns of youth mental health crisis worsened by pandemic – The Washington Post
“During 2020, the proportion of mental health–related emergency department (ED) visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31% compared with that during 2019.”
…
“In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially girls. During February 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7%.”
ESPECIALLY GIRLS. Astoundingly, suspected suicide attempts were a remarkable 50.6% higher among girls compared to boys at only 3.7%. On a normal day I might let that 3.7% pass unremarked. With COVID and other changes between 2019 and 2021, a slight uptick in attempted suicide rates seems understandable.
But an increase of 50.6% — that number blows up the charts. That number is a nuclear bomb. If I were to pick a leading indicator to document a group’s emotional breakdown, I doubt I could find a better choice than suspected suicide attempts. Any group that shows a 50% increase in suicide attempts is absolutely in crisis.
Trying to go forward with business as usual in our schools should be considered criminal negligence right now.
Eduhonesty: The toxic emphasis on testing has been attacked repeatedly in this blog, but repealing unnecessary testing right now seems like putting a band-aid on a third-degree burn. We have to do more than reclaim our classroom days for teaching. We have to reclaim our children. When death seems like the best option to a physically healthy adolescent, in a country that has seen 28 school shootings this year, we need to slam on the brakes. IMMEDIATELY.
Discussions related to curriculum and test deficiencies need to be thrust onto the backburner. State standardized tests should be cancelled for at least a year or two in order to work on more urgent problems — such as those many girls who are obviously buckling under the strain of everyday life in 2021. What is happening?
| We can’t go on with business as usual. I suspect business as usual may be a huge part of our problem — because “usual” is impossible, and the more we try to force daily routines, the more cognitive dissonance I am sure our students experience. In some locations, schools have almost no substitute teachers available – and no substitute paraprofessionals. Many schools are struggling to meet minimum staffing requirements. Trying to pretend otherwise only highlights the weirdness for many students. Administrators and paraprofessionals are appearing in front of classrooms. Teachers are disappearing, in some cases leaving midyear. Students with IEPs are being ignored because the paraprofessionals and aides required by those IEPs don’t exist. In social media, teachers and parapros lament the growing staff shortages, never knowing what their workday will look like as they are moved around to cover unexpected holes in classroom coverage. Sometimes paraprofessionals and aides are illegally taking over classrooms for missing teachers.* |
| Teachers are receiving angry and even hostile emails from parents who dislike the new COVID protocols and want the easy communication of earlier years. I am afraid some aggrieved parents simply want to vent. A classroom teacher, like a food service worker, can become an easy target simply by being immediately available to attack — except that when the baristas quit and Starbucks has to close at 1:00 PM, there’s still coffee out there somewhere. When Ms. Jones decides she’s done with those emails and leaves to sell real estate, no competent replacement may be waiting in the wings to fill her position. And a school cannot simply reduce its hours, although hours of active learning may be effectively reduced due to staff shortages. |
I’d like to ask readers for help me. We have to discuss those girls. What is happening to our girls? Why are they falling into such depths of depression? What are we doing wrong? Or what are we not doing? We can’t leave this to the Surgeon General and US health bureaucracy. We can’t leave it to the schools. Please share this post. The mental health of our girls needs to be at the top of today’s confused agenda.
These are suicide attempts.
I am glad we are finally hearing more about this crisis — and I hope there will be more focus on the astounding difference in effects by gender.
*Note to parents: If you have a child who is slated to receive special services, I would check to see that those services are being delivered. If they are not, please don’t simply demand compliance. The district may be UNABLE to comply with last year’s plan. Instead, work with your district to find a workable solution for support.