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The authors considered other possibilities for the reduction in teen suicide: > There could be a number of explanations for these findings. Families spending t
by vegetablepotpie 4y ago
The authors considered other possibilities for the reduction in teen suicide:
> There could be a number of explanations for these findings. Families spending time together during a period of fear and uncertainty may have generated important mental health benefits for teenagers. Moreover, increased communication between parents and teenagers, as well as increased monitoring (both of behaviors and psychological health) may have yielded important psychological gains for teenagers. In addition, the absence of in-person schooling could have helped teenagers avoid negative peer effects of in-person bullying. Or, it may be that reductions in pressures associated with high-stakes exams, athletics, or romantic relationships may have reduced triggers for suicide ideation. In the final section of this paper, we empirically explore a few potential channels.
As someone who has gone to public school, I know the answer is bullying.
The authors were careful to point out that they do not advocate shutting down in person schooling because it can also offer positive mental health benefits. But you have to wonder, between teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators, you would think someone would notice some bullying behavior. Could it be that collectively the adults tasked with overseeing children are, understaffed, unempowered, ignorant, complicit, or do the facilitate or lead this behavior?
- connectsnk 4y agoOn teacher empowerment, there are two views : One is that the teachers have been stripped off all powers. Just today I was reading some article from hacker news where the teacher was complaining that all kids from the latest freshman year gave her/him the finger when they were asked to show their hall pass. Other side of the argument is that if teachers are empowered, then it is documented sufficiently that some teachers (not all) absolutely abuse their power and exploit/harm kids in even worse ways. I dont know whats the solution. I hope I come out more wise from someones comment here.
- ianai 4y agoSmaller class sizes would probably help as a blunt measure. Might have to be down to 5-1 or 10-1 to really know it’s controlled though. And this isn’t practical. If my hunch that bullies are products of abuse or otherwise need psychological help is true then trying to identify and help bullies and their victims could help.
- atoav 4y agoA classical case of both can be true at the same time. Like in every similar position (e.g. sports trainers, preachers, band leaders, ...) teachers are both powerless and powerful at the same time. If the student has respect for them/their role the power can be real, if we are talking about students who question the rules (and have parents that don't care/actively support the breaking of them) teachers are powerless. Is a babysitter powerful? Towards an adult no, towards the child yes. Towards a certain type of child, no.
- connectsnk 4y agoWonderful insight. Thanks for your comment
- todd8 4y agoCameras in classrooms might help.
- weakfortress 4y ago[dead]
- another_story 4y agoBullying doesn't usually happen in plain site of teachers, administrators, or parents. Often it's only noticed after a students mood changes, and it can only be dealt with when that student is willing to share what is wrong. It's also not easy to spot right away when you're seeing 100 kids a day across 4 or 5 classes.
- ls15 4y ago> it can only be dealt with when that student is willing to share what is wrong And "dealing with it" can make the students situation worse in some cases
- atoav 4y agoOf course it can, because we did not define what course of action "dealing with it" entails.
- ianai 4y agoAnd I can ensure you the bullies, if they are able, will find a way to twist the situation to continue and worsen the abuse.
- atoav 4y agoAnd I can assure you, there are interventions a institution can take that change situations for the better. IF the institution has the capacity to do so. I can only speak for European schools tho.
- ls15 4y agoPease name these interventions. How big is the share of European schools that have the capacity to follow these best practices? In Germany for example, there is a teacher shortage.
- itworkslikethat 4y ago
- hrnnnnnn 4y agoNot only do adults in schools ignore it, they may even participate. Anecdotally: I was bullied by my primary school teacher.
- hugs_vs_toph 4y agoYup, I was a bully in high school and when my victim went and complained about it to the math teacher, the teacher went and humiliated him in front of the whole class. Felt good at the time...
- gvurrdon 4y agoThere's a scene in the 1979 film Scum (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079871/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079871/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) where one of the warders in a young offenders' institution allows a bullied inmate to be framed by his peers and punishes him. When I saw that (not long after it was released) I thought how well that captured the spirit of many school interactions, where bullies would blame their victim and the teachers would fall for it.
- Brybry 4y agoI also went to public school and a lot of my depression and suicidal ideation in my high school years was related to failed romantic relationships and unwanted academic status pressure (a guidance counselor leaked my class rank to my peers). No bullying was necessary. I lacked experience in coping with the resulting intense emotions and didn't trust any adults enough to talk about it. I do agree that bullying is probably the worst culprit.
- mjevans 4y agoCameras - everywhere - except individual, single occupancy enforced, stalls. I'd still support it, because with video evidence there is no they said vs they said. There is just the truth. There's also no more wiggle room for mistakes or minor deviance. Policies that normalize and enforce non-punishment for non-serious offenses must also be put in place to prevent the abuses of that system.
- bobkazamakis 4y agoPlease stop wasting my tax money on bullshit like this rather than having appropriate staffing.
- matt_holmes 4y agoYes Bob, lack of adequate staffing at schools is probably the single biggest contributing factor for student alienation. Infact, social media (which has a lot to do with cameras and technology) is often a factor in alienation and bullying. So I agree, cameras everywhere is not a viable solution. After all, someone would need to view and review those videos! And then what? Punish the bullies, leading them deeper into conflict with the school system?
- ianai 4y ago“individual, single occupancy enforced, stalls.” How about exactly and only that? You go to school, sit in your assigned stall for the day isolated from all other stalls by a locking mechanism, and assigned to lunch periods according to your history and the other kids histories. (Sounds a lot like administrative segregation in a prison…edit- yet I would have RAN to this option in my school days)
- credit_guy 4y ago> understaffed Bingo. There's a lot of dubious research that shows that the quality of education is not related to the student-to-teacher ratio. It flies against common sense, but people in power like to give it credence, since it's budget-friendly. The funny thing is that education budgets in the US are already very large. I don't know how the money is spent, but it's not spent on lowering that ratio. If people need a proof that fewer students per teacher result in better outcomes, they just need to compare public and private schools.
- cafard 4y agoI'm in favor of smaller classes, but still. In private schools, a teacher can count on the parents' backing. In private schools, the teacher can count on nearly all kids coming from stable, economically secure families. If worst comes to worst, a private school can expel a kid who is causing problems.
- InitialLastName 4y ago> If worst comes to worst, a private school can expel a kid who is causing problems. Even deeper bingo. In the first order, it's absurd how much better you can make your performance at a task look if you get to not count the times you dropped the hard cases. For a second-order effect, the students who cause problems degrade the educational effectiveness of the entire classroom, so eliminating them improves performance for the rest of the students. Unfortunately (for public schools re. their comparisons to private schools), our society demands that a cursory attempt be made to provide educational opportunities for _all_ of the children.
- michael1999 4y agoThis is the problem with all comparisons between government programs and private action. Private players can skip the hard bits. Government must be universal.