Has this happened to anyone?

[shayla223]

Has anyone know of any former student who died of a drug overdose? Someone I taught in middle school back in the late 80s died Jan 15 of this year of a drug od of cocaine and morphine. Has anyone else learned this about their former students, and if so, how would you react?

[Boxcar]

No, I haven't heard anything like this. If I did, I think I would send the family a condolences card with a nice message and perhaps some flowers to the funeral.

That is such a sad thing to hear. May this student rest in peace.

[shayla223]

I ran into her next door neighbor at the store thats how I found out. I was just wondering how common this sort of thing is? Like how many students end up dead from drug od?

[dtrim]

I'm so sorry, Shayla.

It's always so sad when a student (current or former) passes away. I would write a quick note to the family and include a brief, happy memory in the notecard.

I can't find any statistics on this, but I think it's more and more common. I just read an article from Reuters (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28146377/) (via MSNBC) about drug use:

"Use and abuse of prescription and particularly narcotic pain medications have increased dramatically in the last 10 to 15 years," said Aron Hall of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Now in the United States, drug overdoses are the second-leading cause of unintended deaths behind motor vehicle deaths," Hall said in a joint telephone interview with colleague Leonard Paulozzi of the CDC.

"This epidemic is most pronounced in rural areas," Hall said.



I think it's getting worse and it's sad.

What I find more common, however, is the number of students I've had who are in jail. Geez. Visiting them there gives me the creeps. My rule of thumb: one visit and a silly postcard once a month until the person is sprung. (I love silly postcards - the ones with giant mosquitos, etc. Who sends those? Me.) One meeting for coffee after the release and then e-mail thereafter. It's bizarre that I have a routine, isn't it?

Best wishes for success,

Diane

[seastarmath]

The longer you teach, the more you will come across this type of thing. I have lost students to drowning and car accidents as well as suicides and drug overdoses. Even more are serving prison sentences. (I usually teach in schools that have a large population of kids who are raising themselves--not always the poorer neighborhoods, mind you.)

It is always very hard and you feel a sense of disappointment as well as loss. I mean, you invest almost a whole year of your life in these and try your best to steer them in the right path.

I have lost two students while they were still in my classroom. One died because she turned thirteen and her mother wanted to be the one to take her on "her first drunk," as she put it. She did that, and wrapped them both around a tree. That really upset me.

I am sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you.

[shayla223]

I was wondering about how many die from illegal drugs? or the combination of prescription and illegal drugs? I heard she started cocaine after her teen idol River Phoenix died and she wanted to end up like him.

[muinteoir]

I don't have any numbers on deaths from illegal drugs; I'm sure they are available though.

I don't think I've had a student overdose, although I'm not sure of that either. I have had several former students killed in traffic accidents.

Monday night a former student commited suicide - I'm still sick to my stomach about it.

[Brit]

do you see predictors when your'e teaching them? are there signs when they're younger that they need help?

[Boxcar]

That is a good question. Remember, every young person who leaves this life was probably once somebody's student.

[teacher5]

I had a student in third grade who I knew was really troubled at the age of 9. One day while we were working in a small cooperative group discussing the Pilgrims and Indians, he got up, ran out of the room, and out of the school. I grabbed a teacher coming down the hall and put her in my room. I ran after the kid for seven long blocks. I cornered him, and luckily a parent from my class was driving by and helped me calm the kid down and drove us back to school. The kid did not want to see his mom when she came to get him, and he didn't want to go home either. I found this all very strange. This happened almost 15 years ago. My principal told me never to go after a kid if they run again. Just alert someone in the office to call the police. I was commended for remembering to get someone to cover my class. 15 years later the kid commited suicide. I only wish someone would have intervened along the way to get this kid the help he needed. I often thought to myself that this was going to happen one day. When I inquired about counseling for this student, I was told the parent wanted no part of it, and therefore our hands are tied.