NOTE that I have corrected this post here.
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I keep thinking about a truncated discussion we had on suicide after one of our Board meetings last spring. You joined it and dogmatically insisted that schools don’t cause it.
Frankly I neither agree or disagree with you. Like Alanna you had a personal family experience that has made you think long and hard about the subject.
Below is a link to a thoughtful NPR story about suicide myths that is instructive.
About 20 years ago 709 experienced 5 suicides in a period of a couple of months that was described as a spate of copycatting. Today one family is preparing a lawsuit against us for their child’s suicide. I am not a fan of certitude and dogma. The world is a complicated place and I recommend this NPR story as a good place for us to begin a discussion about this sensitive subject.
All the best.
Harry
PS. This is not a new issue
PPS The five student suicides represented several area schools not just ISD 709. Our current Education Reporter Jana Hollingsworth wrote the story.
