Tough Teaching Moment

I had the hardest moment of my teaching career last week.

Two years ago, I had to call 911 during class because a kid had passed out. That was scary, yes, but nothing compared to the emotional  toll I took last week.

A student attempted suicide last week. Thank God, it was unsuccessful and the student is going to be okay, but as our principal told us the news during an impromptu staff meeting, I was shaken by the news. I don't have the student, nor do I know who he is, but his two best friends are students of mine, twin boys I have 6th hour. Our principal told us that the twins were going to be very shaken by the news and to make sure they were doing okay.

As 6th hour approached, my heart started to ache for the twins. They are two of my favorite kids, and they are top-quality boys. Sixth hour started and a girl raised her hand: "Um, Ms. Nichols, like, someone told me there are, like, extra counselors on hand today because, like, something really bad happened. But I don't know what happened so will you tell the class why we need counseling?" (This girl, if you can't tell, is a ding-bat and obviously doesn't know the first thing about social etiquette).

I kindly told her if she didn't know what was going on then she obviously didn't need counseling and went about teaching the class.

The bell rang and I grabbed the twins. "Hey boys, I'm just checking in to see how you're doing."

One said, "Ms. Nichols, we have no idea what's going on. We've heard rumors all day about Bob (not his real name), and we've been trying to text him all day but he's not responding. We just heard that he had an accident, and we're really worried about him."

I almost threw up. The twins didn't know what their best friend had done. I was going to have to tell them.

I told 7th hour to wait in the hallway. I sat the twins down and told them the basic facts. Bob had shot himself in the stomach. He was found by a friend in the house who heard the gun go off. He was going to survive with minimal damage done to his stomach, praise God, but the reason he wasn't returning their text messages was because he was in the hospital.

The twins were shocked. (Bob would be the least likely student to do this. He comes from a strong, Christian family, he has a million friends, his family is very close, and he is an A plus student and athlete). His two best friends just couldn't comprehend how and why their best friend from kindergarten had done this.

I eventually sent the twins up to counseling where they spent the rest of the afternoon. I taught 7th hour, but I was sick to my stomach over the news I had just told the twins. My 7th hour was visibly shaken, too, as many of the students in the class were good friends with Bob, too.

At the end of the day, I went up to counseling to check on the twins. They had gone home, and as I talked to the counselor, I lost it. I burst into tears. She burst into tears. We cried together, both for Bob who is obviously hurting in ways people don't know, but mostly for the twins, who were hurt and shaken by what Bob had done.

After getting our tears out, we called the twins to check up on them. They were home with their dad and had plans to visit Bob later that evening.

A week later, the twins are still angry at their friend but doing well. Bob has made it home from the hospital and is going to make a full recovery. Praise God, there is a happy ending to this story, but I never want to have to tell anyone again that their best friend attempted suicide.