By Alicia Wallace

It seems to have shocked government officials and education administrators that 20 percent of teenagers have attempted suicide and 25 percent have considered suicide.

Teenagers who are struggling through the days of a high school that is not responding to their learning needs and hearing the national ridicule of them and their supposed inability to perform at the academic standards required. Teenagers who are responsible for their younger siblings and, in the absence of appropriate public services and support mechanisms, must take them to school, pick them up from school, prepare meals for them, and help them with their homework.

Teenagers who are preyed upon by adults, sexually assaulted, and blamed for the violence they experience. Teenagers who are forced to participate in crime lest they become victims of violent crime, then are characterised solely on their criminal affiliations and activities with no consideration of the the failure to prevent or intervene.

Teenagers who are bullied at school and either get no support from adults or never bother to report it because their first bullies were adults. Teenagers who are forced to work in order to meet the basic needs of their households, and are harassed, disrespected, and dehumanised at work, whether by employers, employees, or customers.

Teenagers who cannot participate in extracurricular activities because of cost barriers and/or the adult responsibilities they must shoulder. Teenagers who are harassed by people in positions of authority, including police, just because they are young and visible.

Teenagers who are experiencing changes in their bodies and their moods that they do not understand and for which they are punished. Teenagers who witness violence in their homes every day and live with the fear that they will one day return home and find a dead parent/guardian/sibling.

Teenagers who cannot identify a single adult they trust to listen to them and help them through a difficult situation. Teenagers who do not have access to mental health care and are, instead, told to pray, made to go to church, and/or sent to untrained or undertrained “counsellors” who cannot give them the support and tools they need to navigate the challenges they face.

Teenagers who struggle with addiction. Teenagers who are abused and told it is discipline. Teenagers who are beaten by adults who use them as punching bags on which they unleash their frustrations. Teenagers who carry the stress of “holding” illegal substances and weapons for people who have power over them. Teenagers whose homes are less safe than the street. Teenagers who can barely sleep at night. Teenagers who are keeping secrets no one should have to endure, much less refrain from ever speaking, preventing them from getting help. Teenagers who put their lives on the line in various ways that are ignored anyway.

The realities of young people are often ignored, sometimes discussed with complete detachment from the people involved, and almost never acknowledged — a requirement for appropriate intervention to take place.

Generalisations about young people are publicly made with little challenge. They are seen as unintelligent, troublesome, ungrateful, and even deserving of any misfortune that befalls them. They are well aware of the assumptions made about them, the accusations made against them, and the general sentiment toward them. Some of them even know that they are not all having the same experience, and that their race and class make a difference.

It is difficult for adults to understand themselves as having value and being worthy of love, care, and life itself. How much more difficult must it be for young people for whom even the shortest encounter is magnified and can feel devastatingly insurmountable?

Schools may now be focused only on academic development, but that is a missed opportunity and an injustice to the people — the children — it is meant to serve. School should not be a place for children to be spoon-fed information in order to regurgitate it while being molded into robots that do as they are told in order to be easily controlled when they enter the workforce. It should be a place for them to engage in learning, through the delivery of the curriculum and interactions with the people around them.

Children, including teenagers, need to connect with one another. They need to connect with their teachers. They need to learn to navigate relationships, to build trust, to identify unsafe situations, to work through disagreements, and to recognise the difference between what is normalized (and unsafe) and what is actually a normal situation or behavior.

Schools are a critical site for intervention. This is where irregularities should be most apparent. Teachers and administrators should notice the state of children’s clothing and hygiene. They should notice changes in patterns of attendance, behaviour in class, homework delivery, and testing. They should understand that the interest and effort of the child is not the only factor involved. Which children are sleepy? Which children are hungry or undernourished? Which children are showing signs of stress, anxiety, or depression? Signs that a child needs help can only really be investigated when there is a real relationship and trust exists so that the child can honestly answer questions.

Emotional intelligence needs to be a part of the curriculum, and it needs to be an area of focus in professional development for educators. All teachers and administrators need to be able to empathise with children. They need to be aware of their own beliefs and biases, and they need to know how to regulate their own emotions. They need to truly care about the children who are in their care, and help them to develop the skills to recognise their emotions and talk about them. They need to be trained in suicide intervention.

Children need to feel safe enough to share what is happening, especially when there is a chance that they will feel embarrassment or they fear that they will be punished for telling the truth (which may be framed to them as “private” or “family business”). Building this level of trust takes time and intention.

Children need to know that there is help available for them. If there is a free breakfast program, they should know where and when to go, and it should be easy to access. If there a mental health professional on staff, they need to know how to find them. They also need to be aware of the Department of Social Services and what can be accessed there. The assumption cannot be made that parents/guardians know or that they will initiate necessary processes.

Sometimes children are considering suicide because their lives seem untenable. Living does not seem worth it. It could be that they do not have the support they need. It could be that they think they are making life difficult for their parents/guardians. It could be that they are struggling to manage strong emotions. It could be that they need ongoing mental health support, without judgment. Life is not easy for all children. There are challenges they face, and many of them try to face them alone.

We need to ensure that the children in our lives know that they can safely talk to us and that we will help them through anything they are experiencing. Parents/guardians are not always able to provide all of the support that children need, and they may not notice that something is wrong. There are many reasons this could be the case, and there may be the desire to cast blame, but first, focus on the children. It is not their fault. As long as there are other adults in their lives, they should have attention, they should receive care, and they should be given the access to the resources and services that are life-affirming.

The statistics have been shared. The shock should have worn off by now. The concern should still be there. Action is needed. Mental health needs to be a priority. The curriculum needs to respond to the needs of the children, and educators need to acquire the skills to do the same.

Recommendations

1. The Bear. The hit show about a restaurant and the people who work there is now in its fourth season. Carmy is a young chef, back home to run the family sandwich shop. As a fine dining chef, he wants to transform the restaurant into something far different than it ever was or was imagined to be at any point. The writing, cinematography, and acting are all beautiful, and the soundtrack is perfect. The dialogue is sharp, complete with weighted pauses and intense nonverbal communication. It is heavy with grief that runs through every character and plot point, balanced with the dreams of the individual characters and the collective hope that drives them to work together, care for each other, and keep trying to do what may otherwise seem impossible. The food is praised by guests, the service is a choreographed dance, and the Michelin star is elusive as reviews are up and down. In this show, every second counts.

2. Take an art class. During the summer months, there are many opportunities to be a beginner at something. Try something different, and challenge yourself to enjoy the experience rather than focusing on the end product. Studio Tela is offering arts and crafter for adults on July 16, 23, and 30 at 6pm for $60. Registration is required to secure one of the ten available seats per session. They also offer one-on-one art tutoring lessons for all ages at $60. Call 806-7150 to secure a space. Poinciana Paper Press is offering full-day summer classes on Saturdays in July and August. There may still be space in this week’s pulp painting class. Upcoming classes include silkscreen printing and lego letterpress printing. All classes are $150. More information and registration are at lu.ma/pppsummerclasses25.