Suicide: The leading cause of death for Singapore students

• There are 3 times more deaths from suicide than transport accidents in 2019

• 400 lives were lost to suicide in 2019

• Males account for more than 66% of all suicides in 2019

• For every suicide, at least 6 suicide survivors are left behind

14 year-old triggered to suicide? Mismanagement by Police and MOE?

• Thoughtful Student had been working part-time at McDonald’s to help lighten family burden, was arrested by Police

• School surrendered their Student, unaccompanied by kin, to 5 police staff during school hours

• Student was interrogated near common walkway in Police Station

• School later excluded Student from attending school camp

Teachers Experiencing Anxiety disorders

1. 12 or more hours of overtime every week

2. ‘My mental health is at an all-time low’

Teacher

• Sec Sch teacher lay curled into a ball on the floor — in tears, hyperventilating, heart beating rapidly

• "It was like the work never stops. I was really, really burnt out"

• "A part of me does want to help them, but (they) need to respect my time"

• Teacher: “You have to reduce the number of kids so that we can really take care of ... their mental (health)”

• Non-transparent performance appraisal and ranking system created toxic culture of fear and self-doubt

• To fulfil CCA and committee roles, teacher is sometimes so busy she has to stop or delay marking and lessons preparations

• Many good-hearted individuals who care deeply for students leave the service after burning out

• "If we can’t have teachers first, we can’t have students first"

• Number of teachers seeking psychological help has more than doubled in past two years. Most of them seek help during the school holiday period. However, they tend to drop out of therapy when the school term begins again due to difficulties fitting therapy into their busy schedule

School Management

• Principal: "The mental health of teachers? You guys are adults."

• Vice-principal instructed teacher to take down Instagram post on depression journey

• Reporting officer: You are "not supposed to tell people how busy you are or how you can’t cope with your work"

• Teachers to be trained in peer support skills

Have I ruined my daughter’s future?

• Should I have followed conventional wisdom and sent her for tuition for all her subjects?

• Was I wrong in letting her have so much down time? Was it my fault?

Children don’t like to be compared

Grades reflect your efforts, strengths, and weaknesses—but not your worth.

Why We Should Let Our Kids Fail

• If children are overprotected, they will not learn to cope with crises and troubles later.

• They need to have their own experience of picking themselves up.

Can I get out from Drugs, Joblessness and Public Scorn?

• From Fame and Fortune to Drugs, Jail, Joblessness, and Public Scorn

• How a young man was picked up and restored again