I WAS horrified to read last week that a 17-year-old German kid had gunned down 15 people at his former school.
By all accounts, the killer, Tim Kretschmer, was a depressed individual who had visited a psychiatric clinic five times. If the German education system is anything like its Scottish counterpart, staff at his school would have been unaware of the boy
's mental fragility
In Scotland, guidance staff happily share information regarding which pupils have a physical disability. However, in 30 years of teaching, I've never been informed about a pupil suffering from a mental illness. Yet common sense – and classroom experience – tells me I must have taught some.
Maybe I'm just unlucky, but whenever I show a video clip of animal cruelty, there is always a teenager who finds the footage hilarious. This could simply be perceived as attention-seeking behaviour, but the glee in their eyes suggests a frightening malevolence.
According to psychologists, children who take pleasure from watching creatures being ill-treated have a propensity for violence. Sadly, there is compelling evidence to support this. Dunblane killer Thomas Hamilton squashed the heads of rabbits beneath car wheels as a youth, and Robert Thompson, ten years old when he and Jon Venables killed Jamie Bulger, ripped the heads off birds.
Like most teachers, I believe I've witnessed early signs of sociopathic behaviour, such as lads punching the hell out of a defenceless opponent, or kids uttering outrageous language, often of a sexual nature.
But, as a consequence of the lack of training in mental illness, the incident is deemed to be a disciplinary issue and the pupil is not referred to a mental health specialist.
There is an argument that early intervention carries a risk of labelling a child, but it beggars belief that schools are devoid of youngsters with psychopathic, schizophrenic or bipolar afflictions.
Years ago, I recall being stared at blankly by a pastoral care teacher when I expressed concern about the mental wellbeing of a Goth teenager who sported a badge that read: "You can't kill me cos I'm already dead". Apparently, I was guilty of an overreaction. Months later, after repeated inquiries regarding the lad's persistent absence, I was told he had progressed to self-harming.
In my opinion, the only mental health issue recognised in schools is stress. Arguably, youngsters today are under more pressure to be successful than any previous generation. Schools and parents have often unrealistically high expectations of a student's level of attainment. As examinations approach, stress can manifest itself in a myriad of ways, such as panic attacks or out-of-character behaviour. Even at this basic level, schools are found wanting in terms of support.
It's an indictment of our mental health awareness that having a palpitating pupil inhale and exhale into a brown paper bag is seen to be the breakthrough medical technology to relieve stress.
Health professionals should be far more involved in the life of schoolchildren. Youngsters need the time to talk to experts about their insecurities, fears and, in some cases, fantasies.
It is a chilling fact that Eric Harris, one of the Columbine High School killers, shared Tim Kretschmer's fascination with firearms. Like Kretschmer, he suffered from severe depression. Did his teachers know?
The full article contains 554 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
