Thinking of the Children
As a parent of children who lost their dad to suicide, there needs to be a program to support and educate the children left behind. Some form of monitoring. Aftercare. Follow-up support. Something. Anything. As a parent, trying to ensure my kiddos don't follow the same path as their dad is critical. Having the tools, education or support is vital to my kids' survival. But there is nothing. No sorry. No follow-up, no monitoring. Nothing. Where are these programs? I think teaching and supporting the children left behind could be a huge tool for these kids, and bring us one step closer to ending this epidemic.
Scared my kids will be the next generation of suicides if nothing is done,
Beth Jacobson
Hunters, Wash.
Readers react to "The End of Summer?" (6/15/17), our story about Continuous Curriculum School schedules and the potential for shorter summer vacations for students:
Gail Cory-Betz: My granddaughter attends a CC school in Spokane Valley/East Valley School District, and we think it's a wonderful program. With shorter summer breaks, they don't lose what they've learned.
Jeff Murray: Math and reading scores are much higher in schools with shorter breaks. We need to also pay teachers more so that they don't commit ritual suicide when we make the switch.
Katie Sokol Droter: I think I would like to try this, starting with the 180 school days and just shifting around the holiday time. Then work up to the 200 school days a year. I do know that the school I work at would need a climate control system — our building is stuffy and unbearable when it hits the upper 80s.
Alexandria Lorraine Bailey: I don't mind this idea if we can fund the schools properly enough to actually pull it off. We can barely make it now as it is.
Jaime Flagg: Teachers would need at least another 15k a year to do that. ♦
