Sept 29, 2018, Fairfax County, VA, WTOP: Fairfax Co. schools hold conference to address mental health, suicide https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2018/09/fairfax-county-schools-holds-conference-to-address-mental-health-suicide/slide/1/ Inside the cafeteria at Fairfax High School, students gathered to share ideas and learn how to identify and address concerns around mental health during the Our Minds Matter Teen Summit for Fairfax County Public Schools Saturday. The summit is a part of this year’s Mental Health and Wellness Conference. … “At Woodson, we’ve had like six suicides in the past few years, so I use them on a day-to-day basis,” Gill said. “There is a stigma around mental health and we do need to fix it.” Jennifer Spears, a mental health and wellness specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools, said the conference was created five years ago after students expressed a need to learn how to cope with mental health.
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.