Sept 24, 2017, Tempe, AZ, East Valley Tribune: 7 EV teen suicides in 6 weeks alarm schools http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/ev-teen-suicides-in-weeks-alarm-schools/article_5a3bf82a-9fe6-11e7-9e50-7f4f87c5e0ec.html Seven East Valley teenagers committed suicide during a six-week period earlier this summer, creating a disturbing suicide cluster and a grassroots effort to do everything possible to prevent additional deaths. The unusual suicide cluster included six boys and a girl ranging from 13 to 18 years old. Six victims hanged themselves and one death was by shooting. The deaths started on July 24 and ended on Labor Day weekend. … McPherson said she has been monitoring teen suicides for the past year, since a Corona del Sol High School student killed himself. Another committed suicide a year earlier on the school’s grounds. As a result of the cluster, teen suicide – a problem traditionally cloaked in stigma and relegated to the shadows – suddenly emerged as a topic earlier this month when an estimated 350 people packed a room to hear about the psychological issues that motivate youngsters to take their own lives. … An Arizona Department of Health Services report for 2015 recorded 10 suicides by children 14 or younger and 60 by those 15 to 19. The vast majority were white males. …
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.