Robin Williams and Lessons to Be Learned About Kids with Mental Illness in Public Schools
By now there have been thousands of tributes to Robin Williams. We knew he was an amazingly sensitive actor, and his comedic genius, my guess, will never be duplicated. I believe, like others, that Williams had a special gift with his hyper ability to string one-liners off without, it seemed, much prior thought.
Williams loved children and young people. His compassion was obvious in both his acting roles and his charitable causes. Movies like Good Will Hunting and the Dead Poets Society especially related to young adults and teens and dealt with student difficulties, the beauty of learning and finding your calling.
So my tribute to Robin Williams is to write about the seriousness of mental illness in both children and teens and how it relates to their schooling. According to the CDC, every year, approximately 2 million U.S. adolescents attempt suicide. Even very young children can struggle with emotional difficulties.
Our public schools should be doing more to address mental illness in both children and teens.
Unfortunately, the corporate takeover of public schools and the attempts to convert schools into simplistic, one-size-fits-all factory learning (preferably with every student online), leaves little room for the complexities children and teens bring to school when it comes to mental health.
Who is paying attention? Consideration of these problems is usually reactive.
Until there is a school shooting, a suicide, a bullying incident, or a student is arrested for outlandish behavior, and these days that can include very young exasperated Robin Williams and Lessons to Be Learned About Kids with Mental Illness in Public Schools: