PHE: Suicide Awareness and Prevention Education
In our next unit of Physical and Health Education (PHE) within the social and emotional learning competency areas, we will be implementing the SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program with all of our students in the middle school. Mrs. Dicks will lead this proactive program designed to increase depression awareness, and arm students with the knowledge to seek help if they are concerned about themselves or a friend. SOS is listed on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices and in a randomized control study, the SOS High School Program showed a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40% (BMC Public Health, July 2007).
The goals of this program are straightforward and are as follows:
- To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness and what these symptoms may look and feel like
- To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression
- To provide students the knowledge to identify warning signs of depression or potential suicidality in themselves or a friend
- To impress upon our students that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns
- To remind students whom they can turn to for help, if they need it
This program is a credible and age appropriate curriculum to implement with our students based on the needs of our community. Each year, we learn of students that have expressed language that is concerning to their friends and are in need of necessary and appropriate support. Research indicates that youth are more likely to turn to peers than adults when facing a suicidal crisis. Sometimes the comments are a one off or don’t indicate real danger, but quite often they are an indication of a need for some level of additional support. Regardless, it is very distressing for a friend to receive a text message, see a post on social media or hear directly from a friend about feelings of depression or hopelessness or even indications of plans to self-harm. This program uses the acronym ACT:
- Acknowledge how your friend is feeling,
- tell them that you Care about them
- and make a plan with them to Tell a trusted adult.
Mrs. Dicks will be implementing this curriculum beginning next week during the PHE class period for each grade level. If you have questions or concerns about this program, or do not wish for your child to participate in this program, please contact Ann Dicks. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program. We recognize that the word suicide and depression might make some uncomfortable. Some may feel their child is too young for this topic, and some may even be under the impression that talking about suicide may give someone the idea to do it. In fact, the opposite is true. Bringing up the subject of suicide and discussing it openly is one of the most helpful things you can do, particularly in a way that is proactive and preventative. Additionally, we find that students are often far more aware of these mature topics than we believe. Once we start the curriculum, we will provide information to allow for follow up conversations at home.
One of the worst understood identities in American culture is religious identity. Scholar and Boston University Professor Stephen Prothero has been researching and documenting this for many years, finding that Americans are woefully uneducated when it comes to the basic facts of different (or sometimes one's own) religious identities. He developed a quiz to use with his students to get a sense of how well this well-educated and motivated group could identify the basic facts or talking points about different religious groups. Students didn't do so well, sparking him to further explore this deficit in broader American society and to advocate for a better understanding of religious culture in America. In Chapel, we posed a handful of questions to the community...no one knew the right answer to all seven questions, very few to six. The questions are here (and the answers are below):
Balanced, Interdependence and Diversity
Spring is an exciting time for various cultural and religious communities. Festivities and holidays from a variety of cultures overlap this time of year. The end of Spring Break coincided with the start of two important religious seasons for Judaism and Christianity - the start of Passover and the start of Easter. Considering this, in All Schools Chapel on Monday, students throughout the school reflected on the Learner Profile attributed "Balanced":We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives - intellectual, physical, and emotional - to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.The key phrases in the IB's definition reflect the goal of cultivating this attribute - "well-being" and "interdependence." In Chapel, we took this as an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be interdependent. There is personal interdependence that takes the form of collaboration and cooperation among individuals, each seeing and relying on the talents of others. There is group interdependence, taking the form of community building, which challenges each person to discern what's right for the individual and what's right with the community. There are myriad examples of natural forms of interdependence, from our reliance on the natural environment for our basic needs to the food chain and the water cycle - and each reminds us not only of our reliance on the natural environment but also our responsibility to care for it. There is economic interdependence, represented by the distribution of resources from virtually every region in the world to virtually every other. The final example we considered was, again, more personally focused: identity. We depend on each other to understand our own layers of identity, and we depend on the diversity of identities in every aspect of our personal and communal lives. The starting point for interdependence in this aspect is understanding and being knowledgeable about what another's identity means.
One of the worst understood identities in American culture is religious identity. Scholar and Boston University Professor Stephen Prothero has been researching and documenting this for many years, finding that Americans are woefully uneducated when it comes to the basic facts of different (or sometimes one's own) religious identities. He developed a quiz to use with his students to get a sense of how well this well-educated and motivated group could identify the basic facts or talking points about different religious groups. Students didn't do so well, sparking him to further explore this deficit in broader American society and to advocate for a better understanding of religious culture in America. In Chapel, we posed a handful of questions to the community...no one knew the right answer to all seven questions, very few to six. The questions are here (and the answers are below):
- Christianity: Name the Four Gospels.
- Hinduism: Name a sacred text of Hinduism.
- Islam: Name the holy book of Islam.
- Judaism: Name the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Torah.
- Buddhism: Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.
- The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own “clause.” What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment?
- At 2.3 billion and 1.8 billion people respectively, Christianity and Islam are the two largest religious groups in the world. At approximately 1.2 billion people (about 16% of the world’s population, what is the third largest group? (This questions was not included in Prothero's quiz and was added for Chapel.)
As we continue to cultivate this attribute in ourselves and among our students, getting to know the basics about the experiences, resources, and ideas that shape each other in every aspect of their lives can only lead to stronger bonds and a stronger community.
Answers...
- Christianity: Name the Four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
- Hinduism: Name a sacred text of Hinduism. Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana...
- Islam: Name the holy book of Islam. The Qur’an
- Judaism: Name the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Torah. Genesis/B’reshit, Exodus/Sh’mot, Leviticus/Va’yikra, Numbers/B’midbar, Deuteronomy/Devarim.
- Buddhism: Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. Life is suffering, Suffering has an origin, Suffering can be overcome, The Eightfold Path overcomes suffering
- The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own “clause.” What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment? Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause
- At 2.3 billion and 1.8 billion people respectively, Christianity and Islam are the two largest religious groups in the world. At approximately 1.2 billion people (about 16% of the world’s population, what is the third largest group? Non-religious, Atheists, and Agnostics
