A few months ago, I came across a very disturbing post on Facebook. A concerned Mother reached out asking for opinions, after her teenage child was given an assignment in health class, to write a suicide note. I’ve heard a lot about schools teaching things they should not, but this has got to be one of the worse. I was curious to see if this had happened in other schools, so I started researching, and sure enough it has happened at least a couple of other times.

In 2014, a Teacher in New York instructed students as young as 14, to write a suicide note.

Back in 2012, a teacher in France gave the following assignment to students:

“You’ve just turned 18 and have decided to end your life. Your decision appears irrevocable. As a final effort, you decide to explain the reasons for your act. In setting out your self-portrait, you describe all the disgust you feel for yourself. Your text must bring up certain events in your life at the root of this feeling.”

I understand bringing awareness to suicide, yes we need that. But this is not bringing awareness. If anything, I see that as messing with a child’s mind. Just imagine a child who already has those thoughts, it might just push them over the edge. Imagine children or parents who’ve lost a loved one to suicide, finding out they or their child have to write a note, pretending it is their last words. No parent wants to hear this, not even if it is not real. This is just sick  and disturbing. Parents, please pay attention to what your children are being taught at school!