California School Counselor - Fall 2008 - (Page 12)

A Few Critical Truths About Crisis Response Our goal must be to integrate prevention and crisis response into the culture of the school on all levels. That means that we make use of the “teachable moment” in every crisis to not only respond adequately to that event, but to do so in ways that also promote further commitment and understanding of prevention. In order for that to be so, all staﬀ – teachers, secretaries, everyone – have to see themselves as owning some part of crisis response and prevention. We need to move away from the place where teachers simply say to students, “If you want to talk about it, go to the counselor,” and instead are able to read an announcement to students and lead a meaningful discussion following the death of someone in the building, even if that person wasn’t personally known to anyone in that classroom. That is what makes this the teachable moment – when we seize an opportunity to speak of compassion and the need to be “our very best selves” today while passing between classes or out on recess, as we can realize that others in the building may be grieving. What a terriﬁc opportunity for counselors to assist teachers in feeling empowered to ask children questions such as, “When someone in your family has died, what did others do that was helpful?” This gives all children the opportunity to be experts for a moment in reinforcing the importance of compassion and acceptance of how others are doing. Counselors can inservice teachers at the beginning of the year on two concepts to help this happen. One is to take time at an early staﬀ meeting to present the concept of having teachers read the announcement of a student or staﬀ death and move directly into leading meaningful discussion. Another is to provide teachers with a script to lead a conversation with students when more global teachable moments occur. Incidents for this might include events such as the loss of the Shuttle Columbia, the sniper attacks on the 12 east coast, the shooting at Nickel Mines, the death of a public ﬁgure and so on. Teachers don’t learn how to help kids grieve as a part of their training, so it is very helpful for them to get their feet wet by ﬁrst discussing tragedies that don’t touch them or their students personally. This concept turns on its head the thought that if kids aren’t bothered by something, we shouldn’t bring it up. Rather, use those incidents that provide a bit of emotional space to ﬁnd words and concepts that allow us to give meaning to what has happened when it isn’t so emotionally laden. That way, later, when it is something that confronts our emotions directly, it isn’t unfamiliar territory. Suicide Prevention Another critical element that is often overlooked in prevention of school shootings is the role of suicide prevention. Most school shootings are done by students who are incredibly disenfranchised. Often these are students who are bullied and/or marginalized by their peers. Becoming suicidal for these students doesn’t just happen, and it isn’t spontaneous. Over time the student is nudged closer and closer to the edge by repeated experiences of humiliation, degradation or outright violence. At some point, when these students decide life is no longer worth living, they have nothing to lose by taking others out with them. Some, like Eric Harris and Dylan Kliebold of Columbine (April 1999), kill themselves on the scene. Others, like Kip Kinkle from the Thurston High School shooting (Springﬁeld, Oregon, May 1998), intend to shoot themselves and are captured alive before being able to do themselves in. Kip Kinkle’s ﬁrst words when wrestled to the ground were, “Shoot me. Just shoot me now.” He had the forethought to have a bullet taped to his chest so if, in the frenzy of the initial onslaught, he ripped through all of the bullets in his clip, he’d have one available to take his own life. Suicide prevention may be one of the most powerful and eﬀective means of preventing many school shootings. So when we look at how best to do that, one central component is to make a diligent eﬀort to be certain that all students are known personally by two or more staﬀ people who routinely take an interest in them. One easy way of doing that is to put the names of all students on 3 x 5 cards, punch a hole in one corner and string them up or tack them all to bulletin boards. Ask staﬀ to walk around the room and put a star or check mark on all cards with names of students they really know. Then the counselor can take those cards that have one or no marks on them and divide them out to teachers who perhaps have those students for one or more class periods and are willing to take them under their wing, so to speak. The teacher can then ask the student questions every day that allow them to better know that student. More importantly, the student has the experience of someone being interested in him or her. It is also really important to have suicide awareness, prevention, identiﬁcation and referral as a part of professional development each year. Teachers should be reminded of the importance of keeping their ears and eyes open to recognize remarks made by students that could seem oﬀ hand. Doing ‘Whatever it Takes’ When a major event does occur, for numerous reasons, our actions should live out the phrase, “whatever it takes.” That means we go the extra mile and much more for families, for students, for staﬀ, for all who have suﬀered impact by the event. On the Suicide prevention may be one of the most powerful and effective means of preventing many school shootings. The California School Counselor | fall 2008 r

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of California School Counselor - Fall 2008

California School Counselor - Fall 2008 Contents Presidential Perspectives Jackie's Jottings Executive Director's Report Pics, Clicks and Technics Calendar Index to Advertisers Prevention is Key in Crisis Response High Schools Partner with Cash for College to Boost Cal Grant Awards CASC Southern California Conference and Research Summit II Reflection 2008 WACAC Annual Spring Conference H.B. McDaniel Foundation Awards Announced 2008 Delegate Assembly 2008-2009 School Counseling Program Grant Recipients Named Solution Tree Outsert

California School Counselor - Fall 2008

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