Mentor/s
Professor Sandra Young
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Suicide is the second leading cause of death from ages 10-24. In the United States, an average of over 3,470 young adults in grades 9-12 attempt suicide every day. So why is Romeo and Juliet the only literature taught in high school classrooms that involves suicide? The current English curriculum is severely lacking in content pertaining to modern day issues, suicide being one of them. The following is a proposed unit on suicide in literature, to be taught at the 9th grade level. Studies show that 4 out of 5 students who attempt suicide display clear warning signs, so this unit is designed to educate students on warning signs, mental health, to open the conversation about suicide, and provide students with resources that could save lives.
College and Major available
English, Teacher Education
Location
University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-20-2018 1:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-20-2018 3:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Meaningful
Suicide in Literature: How Opening the Conversation in Classrooms Could Save Lives
University Commons
Suicide is the second leading cause of death from ages 10-24. In the United States, an average of over 3,470 young adults in grades 9-12 attempt suicide every day. So why is Romeo and Juliet the only literature taught in high school classrooms that involves suicide? The current English curriculum is severely lacking in content pertaining to modern day issues, suicide being one of them. The following is a proposed unit on suicide in literature, to be taught at the 9th grade level. Studies show that 4 out of 5 students who attempt suicide display clear warning signs, so this unit is designed to educate students on warning signs, mental health, to open the conversation about suicide, and provide students with resources that could save lives.
