Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Her Parents or Her Boyfriend As a high school teacher, somehow I always hated when students opened up to me and shared with me things that they could not share with anyone else. It was one of those things again when Emily, a White 11th grader, wanted to talk to me. She said she wanted to talk to me about something important and that she needed my help. I am a caring teacher, so I listened. She has been dating an African American student named Willy and she is really in love with him. Willy loves her too. They want to go to the same college and get married after graduating. The problem is Emily has not been able to tell her family about this relationship. She said that her father is not very fond of Black people, and that there is no way he would approve this relationship. She asked me to talk to her parents. I told her that I could not do it. She, then said, she would either kill herself or run away from her house if somebody did not convince her parents. I have to do something, but what? Please advice. Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) The first thing you need to do is contact the school counselor immediately. If a student threatens self-harm, it is considered an emergency. It is important to share the details of the conversation with the school counselor and with the parents, even if your student gets angry with you. As teachers, it is wonderful that our students feel comfortable sharing details of their lives with us because that means that they trust that we want what's best for them. However, our responsibility is to the students' wellness as a whole, and if that requires sacrificing their trust for their benefit and safety, then that's what must be done.