The Board of Education Should Require All Educators to Be Certified in Mental Health 

  Ladies and gentlemen, we spend more of our waking hours with teachers than we do at home with our guardians. Teen anxiety is on the rise and it is up to teachers to combat this horrifying illness. These adults should be certified in mental health to address mental illnesses in teens and young adults. The fact of the matter is, that mental illness surrounds us all but ultimately does not define us and it can be prevented with the help of certified teachers. 

WHAT HAPPENS YEARLY

Suicide is the second most leading cause of death among adolescents for the past decade. There are around 6,000 teens that take their own life every year! How many people do you think it should be a year? Some of you may say 1,000 or even 100. Now, look at this picture of a loving family. Now, think of your own family and friends, would you want them to go unnoticed or would you like to help them in this gruesome battle. There should be no deaths by suicide and no one should feel as though they need to take their own life. Teachers must step up to the plate and realize that suicidal thoughts can start occurring by age 9.

WARNING SIGNS 

Many teens may suffer from low self-esteem, believing no one cares, depressed or could be a victim of abuse of alcohol or drugs. These are suicidal signs that need to be made clearer and be brought to the attention to the board of education. Since we spend over 35 hours a week with teachers they should notice these signs and take action. However, if they have not taken a specific course to know that these may be suicidal signs, they might never know what may be happening!

WHY EVERY TEACHER SHOULD BE CERTIFIED

We spend around 1260 hours with teachers each year. Death by suicide would decrease majorly if these teachers were certified in mental heath. These teachers are required to hold a bachelor's degree and complete a state-approved teacher education program. Why not infuse a mental health program into the education of these teachers? Wouldn’t you, the student, feel safer knowing that you or a friend could get help easily knowing that each teacher knows how to handle the situation you are currently in? 

CALL TO ACTION

Suicide affects more than one, so my call to action is to make sure every teacher is certified in mental health so that one day there will be no more deaths by suicide.