{ SAFETY FIRST ) ~ Safe Talk

In our FOL Orientation training we were joined in the classroom by Counselling Services to address a sensitive topic and provide training in order to assist our Students in Suicide Prevention.
This falls within the mandate of The Professor of the 21st Century showing competency in 
2. Creating engaging learning environments for individuals and groups that support academic and personal growth specifically: 
2-2 Establishing and maintaining learning environments that promote student success, 2-4 Identifying and supporting learners who require specific assistance in engaging in the learning process, 2-5 Fostering personal growth by encouraging learners to be innovative, creative and independent within a framework of social responsibility. 

The two counselors impressed upon us a 'default' mindset when dealing with students at Risk: 'think suicide'.  In our society, as they noted, this is a subject we try to avoid because of fear: fear of getting involved and 'failing' should someone take their life; fear of perhaps questioning our own stability and happiness by entering such a dialogue.

Within a week of this class, I experienced my first At Risk student for the semester.
We had just completed marking a major assignment and returned the grades.  The student had approached shortly thereafter hoping to chat with me about the mark.  In the hallway, the student opened up that the mark had him questioning himself.  In years past, I would have offered my standard response: 'this is very much a journey; everyone is at different stages of that journey and some have started with more advanced training etc.; not to get discouraged but to focus more on the process of learning and improving; these marks were 'snapshots' in time and not a valuation of what the student may become in future'.  However, due to my recent training, I started to probe a bit more: how was he doing? Was he struggling with Time management etc.  These follow-up questions produced some trigger responses: He was having difficulty sleeping; he had motivation issues; he recently broke up with his girlfriend and that had 'hit him hard'.  I found myself asking the question the Safe Talk Orientation had demanded we ask:  "Are you thinking of suicide?".  There was a long pause, and I knew before the response, that the answer was going to be: 'yes'.
With the affirmative, the next steps were clear: I walked him down to our Counseling Services department.  At the Receptionist, I was perhaps a bit 'veiled' in my initial description of the situation and she perhaps assumed a student that was struggling academically.  She suggested he book an appointment for another day.  I persisted and said it was a self-identified suicide candidate. Immediately we met with a counsellor.
During our training session, we were instructed to leave after discharging the student into the counselor's care, however, the student kept looking at me and it seemed clear that he felt more comfortable that I should stay during the interview.  So I did.  It was fascinating to watch the Counselor methodically do her job.  I was able to provide context regarding the program and also talk about the future semesters and work.  This apparently greatly helped the discussion and put the student's mind at ease.
Later an email appeared in my inbox:

" Hi Fred, Thanks again so much for your wonderful support today with your student. He found your presence so helpful. Just wanted to send you an email so you have me as a point of contact in your inbox, if needed. The student signed a release so that we can stay in touch if ever concerns arise again from your end. Take care, 

Catherine Fawcett, MSW, RSW

Counsellor, Algonquin College"

A few weeks later, another student in another program within which I teach, reached out by email:

"Hello Fred, I don't have your personal email so I'm just going to be very straight with you. My life has no meaning and I thought I could find it in this IMD program but it is clearly not working - I can't sleep because I'm constantly worried about where my life is going. I am behind on 4 years of my life and Carleton's IMD program is killing me (as a matter of fact, a few weeks ago, I was contemplating suicide) - I am telling you this because you're a nice guy and I feel I can confide in you. The peers in first year speak of depression because of how this program is set up for an anti-social life.The real reason I'm emailing you is to discuss about the drama program in algonquin. Is it a program that can earn me a degree? because from what my Dad tells me, I need a degree if I want to continue my life in Canada, And I really do. I'm originally from Nigeria and if I don't do anything about this issue fast, I'll be deported.  If we can set up a meeting and discuss this in private, I will really appreciate the help. Regards,  {Student's Name removed for Anonymity}"

This had me reflecting.  

Was this just pure randomness? An anomaly and nothing more?  Or was I doing something specifically which helped students identify myself as a possible solution to their crisis?

In the first Case Study, I definitely played a proactive role in identifying a potential At Risk student through probing questions that were greatly influenced by my recent training but in the latter Case Study this was not the case.  Most interestingly, in the latter Case Study, I had taught this student before -  he had failed this course previously -  so it was interesting that he reached out to me.  

So how to account for that?  Part of the answer might be again my attempts to 'soften' my more distant and formal approach in the classroom by introducing those Skittles/snacks in class?  I could tell immediately that this changed the dynamic within the classrooms: the students were much more relaxed.  Could that be the small adjustment that opened this one student to take the chance and now contact me?