Helping kids find ways to speak out

NOT long after I started teaching 26 years ago, I quickly realised that my job wasn’t only about teaching curriculum. My daily challenges turned from making past participles exciting to conversations about gender, sexuality and discrimination.

Within those conversations, I found myself counselling parents and young people affected by divorce, family violence, and poverty. I had no choice but to find strength and courage when dealing with suicide and sensitively navigate topics such as self-harm, all while teaching the curriculum.

These real-world conversations, and the emotional toll they can take, weren’t addressed in any of the modules I remember from my preparatory training. Still, they are a big part of my job in connecting with and teaching young people and helping them navigate their world.

Although they are not my children, my relationship with my students has always been meaningful and heartfelt. Several years ago I felt deep heartache and devastation when a student died by suicide. To this day, I believe that this young boy’s death was preventable if the adults around him (myself included) had the information we needed to keep him safe. But we didn’t get it in time.

Who were the keepers of this information? Our students, his peers. It goes without saying that they weren’t to blame, and many young people don’t know where to go when another student is in distress because they find it hard to decipher at times.

This student was suffering from depression; he was being bullied at school and physically abused at home. Some people didn’t see the signs, others didn’t know how to approach him, and some simply were too afraid to speak up.

We now know that suicide and intentional self-harm are the leading causes of death among teens. In my research, I found that 40 per cent of Australian students believed their worries were too great, 60 per cent thought they were not doing well in school, and 20 per cent felt hopeless and depressed enough to stop participating in regular activities.

Every educator I have spoken with (and I visited 120 schools in 2019) knows each day presents a new challenge and they are passionate about making a difference. I wanted to take it one step further by questioning the status quo, challenging my beliefs, and involving students in making a better future. So I created an anonymous reporting platform called Stymie; it is currently used by more than 200 schools in Australia and New Zealand.

Students can send anonymous notifications about concerns such as self-harm, suicide, family violence, sexual harassment, abuse, bullying, and fighting. I have seen first-hand that Stymie is a voice for those who are vulnerable, hurting or concerned, and those who use the tool are courageous.

Since 2014, more than 400,000 notifications have been sent through the platform, resulting in a better understanding of what kids are facing today and allowing critical interventions to take place.

Given the current state of youth mental health, and the challenges presented over the past two years during the pandemic, I believe teaching resilience, courage and empathy are more crucial than ever. Positive childhood experiences help them reach their full potential, reduce negative outcomes that can have longlasting consequences for their lives, and benefit future generations.

Courage is “mental or moral strength and perseverance to face danger, fear or difficulty”. One perceived danger that students face every day is being vocal or speaking out when something isn’t right. Building the courage to “#saysomething” takes practice, so it is important that we teach young people explicit skills in managing their fear around it.

Parents and school communities need to find even more ways to encourage young people to find their voice and ask for help if they need it. My mission is to show students how powerful it feels to be courageous and demonstrate that they are capable of making brave choices that have lasting impacts.

If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800).

PARENTS AND SCHOOL COMMUNITIES NEED TO FIND EVEN MORE WAYS TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG PEOPLE TO FIND THEIR VOICE