MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION A MUST FOR SCHOOLS

New legislation signed by Governor Cuomo in 2016 requires that public schools in New York State begin providing instruction in mental health on or after July 1, 2018. The legislation was co-sponsored by Senator Carl Marcellino (R-Nassau) and Assemblywoman Kathy Nolan (D-Queens).

The new legislation adds mental health education to areas of learning that were already required by law, including education on the use and misuse of alcohol, tobacco and other substances and the early detection of cancer.

According to Glen Liebman, CEO of the Mental Health Association in New York State, “By ensuring that young people are educated about mental health, we increase the likelihood that they will be able to recognize signs in themselves and others that indicate when help is needed and how to get help.”

Why is this legislation so important? One in five adolescents ages 13-18 is diagnosed with a mental health problem, yet only 40% get help. The average time from onset to seeking help is eight to 10 years.  According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 12 high school students attempt suicide, the third leading cause of death for 10 to 24 year olds.

Teaching about mental health in schools and educating to reduce stigma is long overdue. There is great misunderstanding and fear among many who have erroneous ideas about people with mental illness. Consequently, young people suffering with mental illness walk around school feeling isolated, believing that there’s something inherently wrong with them that will never change.

These children and teens often feel shunned, unlike their peers who have a physical health problem and who have others rally around them. I can vividly recall a news report and photo of a middle school boy afflicted with cancer who was receiving chemotherapy. In the photo he was surrounded by his teacher and a smiling group of his classmates, all of whom shaved their heads in solidarity with him.  Imagine if instead of cancer he was depressed and suicidal. There would be no such image of public support, only one of isolation, shame and despair.

A caring school community can offer a young person a safety net of meaningful and helpful connections. It is not unusual for a teenager to feel defective when struggling alone with a mental illness. Mental health education in schools can begin with mental wellness practices for children as early as four or five years old, for example, by teaching social skills and how to manage angry feelings.

As children grow they can learn about the concept of wellness including self-care and personal responsibility. They can learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of developing mental health problems, how to manage crises such as the risk of suicide and self-harm and how to identify appropriate services and supports for treating and maintaining recovery from mental illness.

I can already hear those voices that will decry using educational resources for addressing the emotional needs of kids. If that is your view, I ask you to consider that approximately 50% of students age 14 and older who are living with a mental illness drop out of high school. Youngsters’ mental health and their ability to learn and become productive citizens in the community and workplace go hand-in-hand.

We owe it to our children to support this vital new legislation by encouraging schools to incorporate meaningful education into the curriculum that reinforces the idea that mental health is an integral part of wellbeing. Our children need to learn that there is help that can lead to recovery.

by Andrew Malekoff

Published in Long Island Weekly, September 2017

SCHOOLS MUST STOP THE FOCUS ON TEACHING TO THE TEST

Unless you are an academic professional, you may have never heard the term social emotional learning before, but it’s a concept that’s critical to your child’s well-being.

What is social emotional learning? According to the American Institutes for Research, it is “the process through which we learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships, and avoid negative behaviors. It is the process through which students enhance their ability to integrate thinking, feeling and behaving in order to achieve important life tasks.”

Recognizing and building on the strengths and assets of children and youth and promoting social and emotional learning are essential to their success both academically and in life. Teens who feel connected are less likely to engage in high-risk behaviors such as self-harming, violence, early sexual activity, disordered eating or suicidal ideation, for example.

Nevertheless, this is a tricky goal to reach in schools where teaching to the test is so prevalent. School officials must reframe their thinking that there is only room for either social emotional learning or academic learning. Either-or thinking must be replaced by a both-and commitment.

Following is a composite account of conversations that I had with school social workers who work in urban, suburban and rural settings.

Ted is one of three social workers in an inner-city middle school where there are more than 1,500 students in grades 6, 7 and 8. The school day runs from 7:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. There are six 55-minute periods per day and a 30-minute lunch break. According to Ted, faculty and administrators are consumed with prepping students for standardized testing. Among the responsibilities of the social workers is to schedule and monitor standardized tests for weeks at a time. Ted described this aspect of his job as “crowd control.” 

When I asked him what the biggest obstacle was, he said, “teaching to the test.”

“These days teachers are being evaluated on their students’ test scores and schools are trying to align curricula to the tests, which leaves little flexibility for what can happen in or outside the classroom,” he said. “Teachers are increasingly unwilling to let kids leave class for alternative activities like groups that might address career exploration, grief or anger management—you know, all things that can have a really positive impact on a student’s academic achievement.”

Ted has not given up. He said that we need to educate teachers, administrators, parents and school board members that “kids under stress, kids who were traumatized or living in difficult life situations, need to have social and emotional learning as a part of their school experience. Working with kids in groups is an important part of that learning. The adults in schools need to know that good groups that focus on social emotional learning can positively affect learning and healthy classroom environments.”

One thing that Ted has tried that has gotten some traction is meeting with the teachers themselves in groups.  “I formed a monthly group for teachers who are interested in learning more about working with kids who are depressed or who exhibit self-harming behaviors. But, mostly, teachers ask for help individually, and it is usually crisis-oriented.”

School personnel need to be reminded of what some kids experience on a day-to-day basis and what the impact will be if social emotional learning is taken out of the school equation. Here’s how one 16-year-old student described his troubles.

“I was getting good grades till my mom’s boyfriend moved in and started beating us. That’s when the problems started. Then the school started complaining about my behavior. I was stressed out. I would be sitting in class trying to concentrate but couldn’t. Too many things were running through my head. I’d be sitting there with all of these thoughts that just don’t go away.”

Virtually everyone who works in a school can relate to this and can come up with their own compelling illustrations of kids under chronic stress. Telling their stories is important in demonstrating that standardized test preparation alone will not guarantee academic success or behavioral compliance. It’s time to recognize the crucial nature of social emotional learning in the schools so our children are seen as whole human beings and not testing machines.

Bio: Andrew Malekoff is the Executive Director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. To find out more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org. 

BULLIES MOVE FROM THE PLAYGROUND TO CYBERSPACE

Members of a Wisconsin middle school basketball team are being lauded as heroes, and rightfully so. When the boys noticed some bullies making fun of one of their cheerleaders—a 14-year-old girl named Desiree who has Down’s Syndrome—they took action, walking over to them and telling the offenders to cut it out. 

As one of the boys told reporters, "They were pointing and laughing at her from the stands. It's not funny to make fun of somebody by the way they look or act." Another said, "This is not a one-time thing. You always have to stick up for kids that are bullied. It’s the right thing to do."

Just how many kids are being bullied, either online, in school or both? Recent studies report some startling statistics:

§  83 percent of girls and 79 percent of boys report being bullied either in school or online.

§  75 percent of school shootings have been linked to harassment and bullying against the shooter.

§  About 160,000 teens skip school every day because they are bullied, and 1 in 10 teens drops out of school due to repeated bullying.

§  Kids who are bullies as young adults continue the trend of abuse and violence into adulthood. By the age of 30, about 40 percent of boys identified as bullies in middle and high school had been arrested three or more times.

The most frequent targets are kids seen as “different”—gay or transgender youth, those with special needs or who are overweight—but no kid is immune from being a victim.

While bullying isn’t a new phenomenon, cyberspace obliterates any sense of sanctuary that children once found when they were away from school and in their own homes.

One social media app that’s particularly alarming is Yik Yak, which allows users to send out posts—known as “yaks” — that can be seen by anyone within a 1.5-mile radius. What makes it worse than most other social media forums kids are using is the fact that the posters are anonymous.  A user can “yak” out anything they want without fear of being identified. Perfectly acceptable posts: “Jane is an ugly cow,” “John is a fag,” and much more that would be unprintable in this newspaper. It’s devastating to imagine the damage this type of abuse can have on a child or teen.

Laws such as the Dignity for All Students Act , which took effect in July 2012, seeks to provide students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment and bullying on school property, buses or at a school function. It mandates that schools implement codes of conduct, establish procedures for reporting incidents and provide education and human relations training for students of all ages to prevent discrimination and harassment.

The passage of the dignity act and similar laws provides an opportunity for parents to talk to their children about how to protect themselves from bullying and offers them a context to discuss how to be sensitive to others who are different. It helps them learn how to stand up, speak out and fight back in the face of abusive behavior.

But these laws aren’t enough to tackle what is a social problem. No amount of legislation and no penalties for intimidating schoolyard behavior can guarantee that children will be safe at all times whether inside out outside of school. Contrary to popular belief, teens do want to spend quality time with their parents.

These laws must be complemented by support at home, pro-social bonds among neighbors and consistent community standards against bullying, bias and harassment, including in cyberspace. Otherwise, the legislation will be little more than a paper tiger, another layer of bureaucracy with limited influence in the real world in which kids reside.

Andrew Malekoff is the Executive Director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. To find out more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org. 

BULLIES MOVE FROM THE PLAYGROUND TO CYBERSPACE

in Long Island Weekly, April 17, 2015

Andrew Malekoff

Members of a Wisconsin middle school basketball team are being lauded as heroes and rightfully so. When the boys noticed some bullies making fun of one of their cheerleaders—a 14-year-old girl named Desiree who has Down Syndrome—they took action, walking over to the bullies and telling the offenders to cut it out.

As one of the boys told reporters, “They were pointing and laughing at her from the stands. It’s not funny to make fun of somebody by the way they look or act.” Another said, “This is not a one-time thing. You always have to stick up for kids that are bullied. It’s the right thing to do.”

Another group in New York City, Teen Pact, has taken steps to combat cyberbullying by producing public service announcements that are being used nationwide. One PSA depicts a boy texting an affectionate message about a classmate. His friends then pass it on and when it goes viral he becomes the target of unrelenting teasing and taunting. The PSA message is: “It’s not funny anymore, don’t be an accidental bully.”

Just how many kids are being tormented, either online, in school or both? Recent studies report some startling statistics:

• 83 percent of girls and 79 percent of boys report being bullied either in school or online.
• 75 percent of school shootings have been linked to harassment and bullying against the shooter.
• About 160,000 teens skip school every day because they are bullied, and 1 in 10 teens drops out of school due to repeated bullying.
• Kids who are bullies as young adults continue the trend of abuse and violence into adulthood. By the age of 30, about 40 percent of boys identified as bullies in middle and high school had been arrested three or more times.

The most frequent targets are kids seen as “different”—gay or transgender youth, those with special needs or who are overweight—but no kid is immune from being a victim.
While bullying isn’t a new phenomenon, cyberspace obliterates any sense of sanctuary that children once found when they were away from school and in their own homes.
 
Yik Yak is a recent app that’s become a facet of cyberbullying thanks to the anonymity it lends to users
One social media app that’s particularly alarming is Yik Yak, which allows users to send out posts—known as “yaks”—that can be seen by anyone within a 1.5-mile radius. What makes it worse than most other social media forums kids are using is the fact that the posters are anonymous. A user can “yak” out anything they want without fear of being identified. Perfectly acceptable posts: “Jane is an ugly cow,” “John is a fag,” and much more that would be unprintable in this newspaper. It’s devastating to imagine the damage this type of abuse can have on a child or teen.

Laws such as the Dignity for All Students Act , which took effect in July 2012, seeks to provide students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment and bullying on school property, buses or at a school function.

The passage of the Dignity Act provides an opportunity for parents to talk to their children about how to protect themselves from bullying and offers them a context to discuss how to be sensitive to others who are different. This is, of course, providing that parents are able to engage their children in an accepting and nonjudgmental manner that opens communication.

But laws like the Dignity Act aren’t enough to tackle what is a social problem. No amount of legislation and no penalties for intimidating schoolyard behavior can guarantee that children will be safe at all times whether inside or outside of school.

These laws must be complemented by support at home, pro-social bonds among neighbors and consistent community standards against bullying, bias and harassment, including in cyberspace.

Otherwise, the legislation will be little more than a paper tiger, another layer of bureaucracy with limited influence in the real world.

Andrew Malekoff is the executive director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. To find out more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org.

NATALIE CIAPPA'S LAW

Natalie Ciappa’s Law

By Andrew Malekoff©

One month ago the Nassau County legislature passed a bill that requires police to notify school districts about heroin arrests. The bill, Natalie Ciappa’s Law, is named after a teenaged girl from Long Island, who died of a heroin overdose in June, 2008.

My heart goes out to Natalie’s family and to the growing number of families on Long Island that grieve the loss of their children to heroin and other addictions. Having worked in the addictions field for over three decades there are a few simple truths that I have learned. One is that drug addiction is a disease that destroys families. Another is that it doesn’t have to.

A Disease Suffered Secretly

Those that are afflicted with heroin addiction and their families have been stigmatized by an unforgiving society that view it not as an illness but as the consequence of a moral failing, lack of will power or poor parenting. Although progress has been made in dispelling such damaging myths, I am afraid that we still have a very long way to go.

Most people with physical illnesses are the beneficiaries of widespread understanding, sympathy and support. Not so with addiction. Can you imagine for a moment lecturing a parent whose child is diagnosed with brain cancer and telling them that if they had enforced an earlier curfew that the cancer could have been prevented. Such is the twisted logic of the self righteous and ignorant who refuse to accept that addiction is a disease that does not discriminate by race, faith, upbringing or privilege.

The stigma of addiction necessitates that it is most often suffered secretly, only deepening the pain for all that care for an addicted child. Public support must replace secret pain; and therein lies the challenge in Natalie Ciappa’s Law. With this law comes enormous responsibility. School officials will no longer be able to keep a straight face and say, “There is no drug problem in my school district.”

A Call to Action

Will the passing of this law bring with it dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders that will ensure that notification of arrest information will cause no further damage to suffering families? Will the passing of this law protect and prevent others from criminal activity, and also help young people and families to find and get the help that they need?
The answer to these questions is: It depends. It depends what school district leadership does with it. I assure you that it will not be easy. But nothing worth fighting for ever is.

Natalie’s Ciappa’s Law will shake things up and create dilemmas and concerns among school officials, family members and others. Sometimes it is worth the risk to shake things up in order to make a difference.

Beyond notification, I hope that the law that bears her name will do two things. First, I hope that it will serve to remind all parents that Natalie was not a bad girl. She was a beautiful young woman who suffered from an insidious and progressive disease. In addition to the good that it can do, passing this law is a step towards publicly restoring Natalie’s good name and the dignity that she deserves in death. Second, I hope that the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) will provide adequate funding and strong leadership for drug and alcohol treatment for teenagers and their families.

Natalie’s Legacy

Finally, although there are those that believe strongly that this new law is flawed, either because it does not go far enough to expose other illegal drug activity or because it goes too far in exposing vulnerable individuals, it is my hope that Natalie Ciappa’s Law will be a step forward in the ongoing march to ensure that all our children are healthy and safe.

Originally published in the Anton Newspaper chain, Long Island, NY in January 2009.