#RuralEdChat is a chat that focuses on the needs of the rural educator. This chat has been revised by Tammy Neil (@MathNeil), John Martin (@edventures) and Natalee Stotz (@nataleestotz).
Good evening, #ruraledchat Please let us know where you are joining our chat from and anything you'd like to share about your work. We're glad you're here with us tonight.
Well, Robin here from Wisconsin. We'd love to hear if anyone else is joining our moderating trio that is here tonight to chat. Anyone out there?? #RuralEdChat
that is cool! Much better than what I did afterschool- boring adult things like dealing with cancelling accounts, paperwork, and student loans #RuralEdChat
We had planned to have a second discussion about mental health and our rural schools tonight inspired by a recent article https://t.co/fhZmscYOKD#ruraledchat
Q1 In the article, a small community has taken a mulitfaceted approach to mental health based on the high suicide rate. What might it take for our communities to shift the focus to mental health vs. mental illness? #RuralEdChat
A1 Even though things have shifted, I feel there is a lot of work to be done on removing the stigma associated with mental health struggles.#RuralEdChat
Q1 In the article, a small community has taken a mulitfaceted approach to mental health based on the high suicide rate. What might it take for our communities to shift the focus to mental health vs. mental illness? #RuralEdChat
A1: there's a lot that comes to mind. I think one of the first steps is simply being more open to talking about mental health - the mindset talked about in the article, when the school admin discouraged discussion out of fear, can be incredibly harmful. #RuralEdChat
Q1 In the article, a small community has taken a mulitfaceted approach to mental health based on the high suicide rate. What might it take for our communities to shift the focus to mental health vs. mental illness? #RuralEdChat
I agree. Fear and concern about making mistakes in areas that could impact survival are hard to talk about. Leads many folks to shut down, and that's really hard. #RuralEdChat
A1: We have to be willing to have the difficult and honest conversations with our students. We have to be willing to hear our students. Truly hear them. #RuralEdChat
My understanding is that this is an area where the research is pretty conclusive too - direct and open discussion of mental health and suicide does not increase the likelihood that a suicidal person will take their own life. #RuralEdChat
Exactly. We have to make sure that school leaders understand this and coordinate training for staff to help them understand how important this point is. #RuralEdChat
This is an area where I'm a bit less knowledgeable. But, I describe it as having generally manageable levels of stress and negative emotions. Being sad, stressed, etc. sometimes is normal. Feeling like you cannot handle them is a warning sign to examine your health. #RuralEdChat
I want to honor the friends, families and communities who have experienced loss through suicide. I'd like to engage more of our #ruraledchat community in this important topic at a later date when more can participate. I'm committed to revisiting this conversation. Anyone else?
It's interesting because even experts in the field don't have clear definitions of either idea! That makes it even more important to keep discussing locally to develop an understanding of what both mental health and mental illness are. #RuralEdChat
Thanks for following if you were tuning in tonight for #ruraledchat This moderating team is going to get a little extra rest tonight and we will revisit this soon. Thanks so much everyone and goodnight.
