What exactly is Death Education? Back in 1990, ABC’s 20/20 actually did an investigative report that, to quote Hugh Downs, was “overly morbid.” PLEASE watch closely at about 11 minutes in where they talk about Death Ed at Columbine High School…
It was quite shocking to see that one of the students they interviewed was from Columbine, about a decade before the tragedy. It gives you reason to question if this program is harmless as some may argue or detrimental to the well-being of impressionable students who may already be having emotional difficulties. I think what’s most disturbing, besides seeing young kids playing with coffins, reading your child’s obituary, or seeing their name on a tombstone, is that none of these teachers are professional psychologists or have any experience in the field to deal with the raw emotions that these programs unleash. They might have received a certificate from a one-day training session, but that cannot possibly cover everything that they would need to know in order to answer all the questions that are raised. An important part to note in the video is at the end, when they talk about if parents know that this is in the curriculum. As the reporter says, most don’t; but it was comforting to hear someone in the media say “parents know if the kids are emotionally ready for it”, even if it was 22 years ago! Unfortunately, it still is being taught today.
We try and blame guns, video games, movies, television, and even psychiatric drugs; but maybe it is time to take a closer look at what is going on in our schools today. What good can come from teaching this type of curriculum? Why should we idolize death or expose young children to suicide when they are already confused about so many other things and are just trying to deal with the pressures of fitting in.
Maybe instead of trying to blame guns, we should take a closer look at what our children are exposed to in their own schools. Maybe we should stop blaming inanimate objects and actually sit down with our kids and talk to them. Maybe we should all be much more involved in our children’s education and not be naive enough to think that we can leave it up to politicians and teachers who might not have their best interest in mind.
I think it’s time we start standing up for a generation that is constantly being exposed to controversial material without our consent. Find out if Death Education is in your school. Find out what the curriculum is, and voice your opinion. One person can make a difference.
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Chilsren should be more exposed to the meaning of life and death.
Not sure exactly what your comment is intended to mean (WHOSE meaning of life and death? WHAT meaning of life and death? is there some sort of consensus on that in your world?)– BUT– children definitely DO NOT need to be exposed to ANY sort of life-and-death curricula in schools! That is the province of home and church ONLY.
It’s not like this was a class on philosophy, which after all IS concerned (ultimately) with the meaning(s) of life and death, and which can be taught effectively in the higher grades. Remember, in philosophy there are no answers, only questions. This macabre class was nothing like that.
What is most infuriating about all this is that many school districts are cutting back on art, music, drama, and sports– and yet somebody believes it appropriate to spend money on this garbage!
[[[ We try and blame guns, video games, movies, television, and even psychiatric drugs; but maybe it is time to take a closer look]]]
You MUST blame TV and all the video games, movies, etc that are watched and acted upon daily. Years ago… Parents were different than they are in today’s time. Kids had respect for the teachers, listened, got their lessons, and never skipped school… mainly cause of the parents rules that must be followed and the respect of your elders.
Kids now dont respect anyone.. let alone a teacher. They dont attend class half the time, cause there is no punishment from either the school or PARENTS. They are either making fun of someone in school, smoking dope, having sex with whoever, or acting like the class clown to get attention. When a child is NOT taught manners, respect of adults and your playmates, this violence in the schools will continue. Parents are to blame for this, not always the teachers. We do not have parental control like we once had. The kids watch sordid sex on tv… abuse of animals…. cussing is so common, cause they think it’s cool… they have no respect for anyone, let alone their parents… so they are able to do as they please… and this will continue through their lives till it leads to murder, rape, and other unlawful things.
People talk about how children have no respect. Much of that lies with the education system, when teachers decided that they would be ‘friends’ ( call me Linds, Karen, Mike, etc) instead of the respectful Mrs. Jones, Miss Johnson, Mr. Smith. And when a parent tries to instill respect for elders, they are undermined at every turn. Parents can no longer set consequences for bad choices, the courts and school systems have said we need to coddle them. We can’t let them learn from their mistakes, it might hurt their feelings. Why should kids respect anyone? The schools have taught them that they are the center of the universe.
SOME of the lack of respect may be in the education system, but MOST of it lies with the parents! It’s time for parents to return to school involvement. A majority of parents today are just too concerned about themselves to give their kids a second thought…much less the guidance and involvement that children MUST have to grow up to be responsible adults. Parents don’t respect their children or themselves – how can the children learn to respect anyone or anything? Don’t blame TV or video games, either – blame the parent who won’t monitor what their kids watch on TV and say ‘NO’ to TV shows, movies and video games.
This is an important AND amazing article and should be blogged all over the net. Most of us were not aware of this part of the indoctrination process in public schools. As a former physician I find it horrifying. Can parents “opt out” of this part of the curriculum like they an “opt out” of the sex pornography program? This needs to reach a wider audience, especially the pro-life community. If they are saying that visiting a morgue and visiting a funeral parlor helps children cope with death we truly are in a “culture of death.” What great minds made up this curriculum? What are they doing to our children?