I chose to study the mental health of adults in China and how it is affecting children. This topic is close to my heart because I was in a different state of mind when my son was 9 months old. Life circumstances left my mental state as indescribable. I decided to do some research on this topic. I chose China because I once taught ESL for a summer there.
A few months ago, China was in the headlines because of a man who attacked some Kindergarteners. He walked into the school and killed two adults and seven children. This brought the world’s attention to the mental health state that China is in. Doctors discovered that the men involved had prior mental health history, but it was ignored. He was very depressed, and felt suicidal. This man said he did this because he believed that this would be the greatest impact. He killed these children because the school would not pay more rent.
Nearly 20% of the people of China are suffering from mental illness. China use to be a very introverted society, so people are just now confiding with others including their doctor about their mental state. It use to be that people would think less of you if you said you are suffering mentally. There are resources available, but some areas are still poverty stricken. Change in China is happening one person at a time.
This example of the man who killed the Kindergarteners was an extreme example, but not too far from home. I remember the Oklahoma City Bomber and the UNT Campus Shooter, and last week the Arizona shooting. We are fortunate to live in the United States of America because of all the resources available. It breaks my heart that little children did die at the hands of some heartless and insane adult. They were to young to defend themselves. Stories like this make me value my role in the early childhood field. I really take to heart standing up for those who cannot speak for themselves or are afraid to.
References:
“Mental Disorders Major Health Issue in China.” Thaindian News. Retrieved November 11, 2010 from
Tran, Tini. (May 2010). School Attacks Highlight Mental Health Issues. USA Today. Retrieved
November 11. 2010 from http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-05-14-china-mental- schools_N.htm.
Hello Stacey,
ReplyDeleteYou chose the right topic based on what just happened last weekend in Arizona and even the economy . I believe lots of people are depressed and when people are not mentally OK , they express the frustrations in different ways. As educators we need to pay close attention to the mental states of our students and try to find out what's going on at home. Great post .
olufemi.
Stacey,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. It is horrible how all these things keep happening.People should not be ashamed if they have problems. They only way to solve them is to confront them. We have all these killings and things because people choose to ignore mental illness in people. It reminds me of a show I watched about a six year old girl who is the youngest person diagnosed with schizophrenia. Her parents knew something was wrong with her but the doctor kept saying it is ADD or ADHD and things like that. It took the little girl to get arrested at school for her to be admited to psyh hospital. The people at the hospital ran every test they had before they finally said she had schizophrenia. Orginally they refused to believe that someone that young could have it.