Hope for Tomorrow

To most of us, the news headline is too familiar and one that we wish that we would never have to read again.

Another campus has been riddled with bullets. Another community is broken and grieving.

To many of us, it is also a terrifying reality of the times that we face and the environment that we will place ourselves in every day as teachers or professors.

Schools are working to test out and implicate new precautionary measures. Some have beefed-up security on campus. Others have installed metal detectors.

It will help. It will stop some. It won’t stop all.

What will? Anything? Nothing?

While I certainly don’t pretend to have all of the answers, I think that schools are missing a major piece of the puzzle. Indiana, like my home state of Michigan, doesn’t require high school students to take any sort of mental health class (i.e., psychology) to graduate. Neither does Virginia. Colorado doesn’t have state-wide high school graduation requirements yet, but in their newly-proposed state-wide program, mental health learning is left out.

Sure, all of these states require “health” classes be taught. Usually, they are taught the semester opposite physical education. I don’t know about you, but my high school health class curriculum was mostly concentrated on teaching students how not to contract an STD and how to avoid an eating disorder. That’s not to say that we avoided mental health altogether. In my class we covered mental health issues for three days by watching “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” while the teacher polished her fingernails. Seriously.


The Northern Indiana University shooter’s girlfriend told CNN today that her boyfriend gave her two packages (one contained an empty gun holster and ammunition) along with a phone call to say goodbye prior to the shooting.

The Virginia Tech shooter had a history of mental illness and was taking antidepressants at the time of his rampage.

The Columbine High School shooters were both known for their frequent misbehavior.

We had signs.


It is true that we will never be completely safe from those that want to cause us harm. While there are warning signs and behaviors to watch for in those with mental instability, we must admit that it is also true that many of these signs are common among all adolescents. Still, It can’t hurt to equip the student body with knowledge. Students should all know the signs of mental illness so that they can see it in others and themselves. Psychology teachers can provide much needed help to students by teaching them how to handle stress, anger and more. This alone can be a tool to help curb these violent eruptions. If psychology teachers have to see all students it becomes one more set of educated eyes on troubled souls. It is one more security measure. One more bit of hope.

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Talk Back
~ Are you afraid to go to work in a school, college or university?
~ Find out if your state requires mental health classes, like psychology, in order to graduate by searching for "[Your State Here] high school graduation requirements". Please reply to let me know what your state requires in this category.