ASK LISA-ANNE
Children
Can Be Depressed?
Q.
My son is 10 years old and is in the 5th grade. He has had
some
behavior
problems in school this year and I’m not sure why. The
school
psychologist feels that he is depressed. I don’t agree
because
I do not feel that a 10 year old would have anything
to be depressed about. Do children really experience depression?
A.
Yes, children and adolescents do suffer from depression.
According
to the National Institute of Mental Health, it is only
in
the
past two decades that childhood depression has been taken
seriously. Because normal behaviors vary from one
childhood stage to another, it can be very difficult to tell whether a
child
is just going through a temporary “phase” or is suffering
from
depression. Sometimes it is the parent
that suspects something is
wrong
and sometimes it is the child’s teacher who
senses something is not right. This is especially true when the
change
in behavior is sudden and out of character. Parents should
visit
a pediatrician to rule out a physical ailment. The pediatrician
will
probably recommend that the parents visit a specialist,
preferably a psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of
children.
When adults think about depression, they think about adult
problems
like money, bills, death, stress on the job, and relationship
difficulties. Children can experience stress
also that can lead to
depression. For example, parents who constantly fight
in front of the children, the children overhear adult conversations
about
money or relationship problems, death of a loved one or pet,
lack
of friends, constant teasing at school, difficulty with school
work
that makes them feel ‘dumb,’ or insecurities about
their looks and clothes. Some of these concerns may seem
superficial
and unimportant to an
adult, but they are very serious
concerns
for a child.
The American Academy
of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry list the
following
signs of depression in children:
· Frequent sadness, tearfulness, crying
· Hopelessness
· Decreased interest in activities; or inability to enjoy previously favorite activities
· Persistent boredom; low energy
· Social isolation, poor communication
· Low self-esteem and guilt
· Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure
· Increased irritability, anger, or hostility
· Difficulty with relationships
· Frequent complaints of physical illnesses such as headaches and stomachaches
· Poor concentration
· A major change in eating and/or sleeping patterns
· Talk of or efforts to run away from home
· Frequent absences from school or poor performance in school
· Thoughts or expressions of suicide or self destructive behaviors
Remember that all children have a ‘bad day’ from time to time
however,
symptoms of depression are persistent.
Take your son for
a physical
and talk with your pediatrician.
Depression is a real
illness
and needs attention just like any other illness.
High School Drop Outs in 2007?
Q. My 16 year old nephew recently
dropped out of high school in another
state.
He has been struggling academically for years. My sister doesn’t
seem to be concerned about this. She is
glad for the money he brings
home from his job to help pay the bills. I know she needs the money, but
he also needs an education. Does this still happen?
A. Unfortunately yes! Nancy Zuckerbrod
reports in a recent (June, 2007)
article for EducationNews.org, that many schools
are Dropout
Factories. A drop out factory is a high school where no more than 60
percent of the students
who start as freshmen make it to their senior year.
That description fits more than
one in 10 high schools across America.
What a horrible statistic! Bob Balfanz, the Johns Hopkins researcher who
coined the term "dropout factory,"
states that “if you live in a
town where the only high school has only a few graduates as the norm,
how is this living in the land of equal opportunity?”
The highest
concentration of dropout factories is in large cities or high-
poverty rural
areas in the South and Southwest. Most have high proportions
of minority students. These schools are tougher to turn
around because their
students face challenges well beyond the academic ones -
the need to work
as well as go to school, for example, or a need for social
services.
Utah, which has low poverty rates and fewer minorities than most states, is
the only state without a dropout factory. Florida
and South Carolina have
the highest percentages. As an educator, I am so tired of the obstacles that
our minority children have to face and overcome. Some states appear to be
unconcerned about this problem. The No Child Left Behind
Act, for
example, pays much more attention to educating younger students.
But that appears to be changing. House and Senate proposals to
renew the
5-year-old No Child law would give high schools more federal money
and
put more pressure on them to improve on graduation performance,
and the
Bush administration supports that idea. The current NCLB law imposes
serious consequences on schools that report low scores on math
and reading
tests, and this fallout can include replacement of teachers or
principals - or
both. But the law doesn't have the same kind of enforcement when it comes
to graduation rates.
Nationally, about 70 percent of U.S. students graduate
on time with a regular diploma. For Hispanic and black students,
the
proportion drops to about half. The fact that kids are entering
high schools
with such poor literacy skills raises questions about how much
catch-up
work high schools can be expected to do and whether more pressure
should
be placed on middle schools and even elementary schools, say some
high-
school principals.
It can be done however, teachers and administrators at
Baltimore Talent Development High School, where 90 percent of
kids are
on track toward graduating on time, are working hard to meet their
students
needs. The school, which sits in the middle of a high-crime,
impoverished
neighborhood two miles west of downtown Baltimore, was founded by
Balfanz and others
four years ago as a laboratory for getting kids out on
time with a diploma and ready for college. Balfanz reports
what many of us
know already, if our kids do not graduate high school, the cycle
of poverty
and drop outs, continues. Another
effective program that works is the 90-
90-90 schools. They are
90%minority, 90% poor, and 90% passing. For
more information visit EducationNews.Org.
Read More on 90 90 90 Schools:
Author: Reeves, D. B.
Publisher: Advanced
Learning Press
Publication Date: 2000
Pages: 185-208
Book Title: Accountability
in Action: A Blueprint for Learning Organizations, 2nd edition
Full text available online at: http://208.112.40.253/resources/custom/articles/AinA%20Ch19.pdf
Abstract (written by WestEd):
In Chapter 19 of Accountability in Action: A Blueprint for Learning Organizations, 2nd edition, Reeves provides examples from multiple school systems to illustrate the common characteristics of 90/90/90 schools (over
90 percent poverty, over 90 percent minorities, and yet over 90 percent achieving at high proficiency levels).
Info From the Link Below:
http://www.schoolsmovingup.net/cs/wested/view/rs/768?x-t=wested.record.view
