And, they don t want to go to adults and talk. So, what we need to do is get some of our peers and teach them some skills on how to talk to other peers and maybe an in-school program where you can go to a peer and speak about your personal problems. And, the adult denial starts with, not so much as ignorance, but probably a little bit of, you know, belligerence. Not trying to hear the students or trying to avoid it. That's one of the main reasons that causes children to go out and do violence and do other stuff.
Most kids don t trust their teachers.
One student responded that she had done just this and was told by the school counselor that she shouldn t come unless it was an emergency and that this was school policy. Significantly increase the number of trained counselors in our schools. The current ratio of one counselor for every 436 students is unacceptable. We also need to increase the number of trained volunteers or paid adults that work in our schools, e.g., as provided by the New Jersey Child Assault Prevention program. Establish programs to train students as non-judgmental listeners and mentors.