The entire country becomes extremely horrified, frightened, and shocked every time the news reports another school shooting in the United States. Most other developed countries around the world have been taking action on trying to solve the issue. America still has a lot of work to do as far as coming up with essential laws, programs, or strategies to successfully decrease the number of lives being lost from school shootings. Unfortunately, school shootings have been increasing every year. Another school-related tragedy that has been increasing every year is the student suicide rate.
The higher the education level, the higher the number of scholars taking their own lives. Suicide is responsible for taking many lives as it is the third leading cause of death among school kids over the age of ten. Everyone knows (at least all scholars and former students) that the educational system (at any level) can be extremely stressful for students. A mental health facility in Connecticut released data displaying the relationship between emergency mental health visits and the time of the school year. As expected, the number of pediatric mental health visits was relatively lower during the summer, but during the months where school was in full swing, the number was more than doubled. The data also captured that not only the summer had half as many visits, but even weeks given off to students during the school year were halved as well. The same Connecticut study found that there has been an increase by nearly 300% from just 2008 to 2015 in the number of students being hospitalized for suicidal attempts. To continue on, the American Psychological Association announced that teenagers are the most stressed people in the country. The APA claims that 83 percent of American teens find their anxiousness being caused by school (Peter).
I could ramble on and on about the harrowing statistics surrounding the correlation of suicide and the educational system. The big thing is how can we solve this problem. Well, the good news is that more and more programs are becoming available for students across all American campuses. Many organizations including the U.S. Government are taking strong action by funding programs such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. However, even though many programs have become available for students, many who need the help do not reach out for it. Fellow classmates and students must always be aware of others and be willing to check in on friends to simply see how they are doing.The help available is great but it is useless if the ones in trouble aren’t using it. The bottom is line is that the highly demanding and competitive educational system in the U.S. leads to depression among students.
Gray, Peter. Children’s & Teens’ Suicides Related to the School Calendar. Psychology Today, 31 May 2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201805/children-s-teens- suicides-related-the-school-calendar. Accessed Jan. 14th, 2019.