Teen Suicide

I found this image on flickr.com

Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death for adolescents between the ages of 15 to 24. It is the fourth leading cause for children between the ages of 10 to 14 years old. Teen suicide is an important issue to take seriously because it does happen way more than it should. Last Wednesday a seventeen year old student at the elite Dalton School in New York City committed suicide by jumped to his death from his school building. The authorities said that after he arrived at school he went to the “dance studio, opened a window and jumped…students playing below scattered when the body hit the sidewalk, witnesses told the” nydailynews.com (Lazarowitz, Elizabeth, 2009). The teenager was identified as Theodore Graubard who was described as a “well liked, accomplished athlete and scholar who seemed to have much going for him” nydailynews.com (Lazarowitz, Elizabeth, 2009). He was a junior at Dalton and had won a few “academic awards and was involved in school activities including its web site” nydailynews.com (Lazarowitz, Elizabeth, 2009). What could possibly make this teenager who went to a prestigious school with opportunity and a future end his life at such a young age? Why did this happen and how come no one saw it?

I went to the Dalton’s school web page and I looked at the tuition to this prestige Dalton school and it is $33,100 per academic year. That tuition is more for one year for grades K - 12 than the four years of mercy I am attending to get my Bachelors in Behavioral Science. Why is it so much money to go to a school like that and your not even getting a college education yet and am I not getting a good education because I am not paying as much as them? I just don’t understand why the tutition is so high and how come people pay that much when they can send they kids to public school instead.

I looked at Dalton’s School Mission Statement and it stated that the “Dalton School is committed to providing an education of excellence that meets each student’s interests, abilities and needs within a common curricular framework and reflects and promotes an understanding of, and appreciation for, diversity in our community as an integral part of school life”(dalton.org). This school sounds like they go above and beyond for the students with they own interests and learing abilities in the school setting. I also see that they want to teach the students about the communities as well as work in the classwork.

Dalton school also has 4 major principles that they do daily in school.

1. Valuing all dimensions of each child – intellectual, social, emotional, aesthetic, physical and spiritual.

2. Cultivating values of respect, integrity, compassion and justice to encourage community responsibility, combat prejudice and engage students as participants in a democratic society and global community.

3. Developing intellectual independence and risk-taking through inquiry, direct experience and collaboration.

4. Valuing all disciplines – the arts, sciences, humanities and physical development in an interdisciplinary curriculum, mindful of our historical emphasis on music, dance, theater and visual arts.
dalton.org

After reading that there seems to be too much going on for these children I can easily see why these students are stressed out. I bet this school also has a serious grading system. The school requires a lot of work for these students and probably tough standards to achieve which leads to high stress and anxiety. The student that recently died last week was a sad outcome to a tragedy that could have been prevented. People and especially parents expect so much from teenagers which is a very hard time for teens because of all the changes going one. These are still children and not adults there in between. We need to realizes that sometimes there are some warning signs like stress, changes in mood and appearance, loss of appetite use of drugs sleep, disturbances and depression which are risk factors a teens might be showing if mentally unstable. If you notice a friend or relative is unstable try and talk to them maybe they will open up and talk its worth a try especially in times like now when suicide rates are high.