Introduction:

Death is a subject that many people have difficulty discussing or considering.  It is an event that will impact every human's life, at least once.  Every human will experience the reality of death, through actually dying, and perhaps vicariously through the observation of the death of family members and friends.

Human kind's attitude towards death has changed over the years.  In the Middle Ages the dead were entrusted to the Church and the exact location of his/her burial site was not important, often not even identified by a monument or inscription.  In the eighteenth century death was exalted, dramatized, and thought of as disquieting and greedy.  Eighteen century man/woman was less concerned with his/her own death and more concerned with the death of another.  The loss of the other and the need to maintain his/her memory resulted in the nineteen and twentieth century cult of tombs and cemeteries and the rhetorical treatment of death (Ariés, 1974, p.55-56, 68).

In the twentieth century the attitudes about death have changed from being an open topic of experience and discussion to a life experience that is attempted to be avoided and not discussed.  Between the 1930's-1950's a significant change came in the where individual's went to die.  Prior to the twentieth century most non-violent deaths took place in the homes.  In the twentieth century a socially changed attitude resulted in more people dying in institutions (Ariés, 1974, p.85, 87; Levine, 1982).

The ability to face the reality of death and its impact on our life and each other's lives and the ability to discuss our fears, anticipations, fantasies, etc., can better prepare us to fully live our lives.  To fully live our lives we should live our lives as if we knew we only had days to live.  Thomas Aquinas describes human kind's fear of death by making the statement, " Man (woman) shuns death not only when he (she) feels its presence, but also he (she) thinks of it," (Choron, 1964, p.71).

An individual's attitude towards his/her death in the presence of death can be effected by his/her preparation for death, the circumstances surrounding the pending death, and what the cause of death will be (Choron, 1964, p.89).  There are a variety of death fears such as, the fear of what happens after death, the fear of the actual event of dying, and the fear of ceasing to be Levine , 1982).

In this paper I will present a discussion on western attitudes towards death and dying, reasons for the need of a death education course for adolescents and adults, and provide a framework for a death education program.

The Western Attitude Towards Death and Dying:

According Stephen Levine (1982), western society is conditioned to deny the reality of death.  It is for this reason that many people feel confused and guilty at the time of his/her death or the death of another.

In medieval times, people in the western world approached death in a more natural way than in present day.  Technology has separated westerners from the fundamentals of their biological existence which has resulted in the realities of death being obscured (Foos-Graber, 1989, p.6).

Death and dying, even though normally ignored by individuals, is a consistent part of daily vernacular and life.  This fact is supported by some examples of words and expressions used in daily life.  Words and expressions such as:

 Sudden death overtime
 Talk a subject to death
 Drop dead
 Dead tired
 Dead right
 Dead end
 Dead from the neck up
 Dead Weight
 Killing Time
 Dying to meet you
 Political suicide
 Graveyard Shift
 
(Kalish, 1981, p.11).

A death education program can provide insight and a level of comfort to individuals as they study the life skills of learning to live through learning to understand and accept death and dying.

Reasons for Death Education - As a Life Skill:

Near-death researcher, Kenneth Ring states that we learn to view death from the outside.  We are always spectators to death, not considering the experience of our own death.  When death is conceived from this perspective, we have the images of the physical deterioration and the feeling of pain associated with separation from the dying individual.  Thinking of death in this way, it is natural to fear it, to be repulsed by it, and to avoid the subject of death.  Even persons who take some comfort in religious doctrines regarding life after death are not immune from the uneasiness that comes from viewing death from the position of a witness (Ring, 1985, p.19).

Philosophical beliefs, spiritual beliefs, and cultural practices help to provide humans with a sense of understanding about death.  Philosophical and spiritual beliefs provide a basis for the dying individual to psychologically and spiritually prepare for the inevitability of death.  Individual cultural practices provide the foundation for the way individuals, who are touched by death, to react and grieve.

Human cultures accept and deal with the dying person and death differently. Death education programs can provide individuals with an understanding of dying and death from a philosophical, religious, and cultural perspectives.  With this knowledge, the individual can psychologically begin to accept the inevitability and finality of death.  Understanding and learning the process of dying and what to expect as one dies, provides the individual with a level of knowledge that can alleviate some of the fear of the unknown and an awareness of some of the special needs of the dying person.  This education can also help individuals with their personal grieving for the loss of another or for their inevitable demise.

Learning to die is directly associated with learning to live.  The educating of people about death, the processes of dying and grieving, and how to prepare to die, can ease the actual dying period by preparing all participants for the final moments of life.

Reasons for Death Education - For the Dying:

Dying is the final stage of growth in the life cycle.  To achieve the maximum experience from this stage, the dying person and his/her significant other(s) should be educated about the final stage of life.  By understanding the process of dying, accepting the physical finality of death, and the development of an understanding of the psychological and spiritual self, individuals can help free themselves from the fear of dying.  The fear of dying can be a possible underlying deterrent for being able to living a fruitful life.   Michael Landon, the actor, director and producer, who recently died, when asked, prior to his death, what was important to him now that he knew he had a terminal disease, stated that he "notices more" and "doesn't want to miss anything."  Through the attainment of an understanding and acceptance of death, life can be lived more fully and death can come more peacefully.

Many humans have difficulty conceptualizing the end of their own existence.  The conscious mind has never knowingly experienced its own non-existence.  It has no reference to what not being part of life is like.  The human has no learned experiences of not being alive.  He/she continuously attempts to rationalize, reason, or find purpose in death.  According to brain researcher, Michael Gazzaniga (1988), the brain must make sense of what is happening to it at all times.  Therefore, effective death education can promote a more peaceful transition for the individual, during his/her dying process or the dying and death process of another.

By educating people about death, prior to having to deal with death, can ease the actual death experience and provide a calm, cohesive environment throughout this stage of life.  It is an important life skill to learn to notice more and attempt to appreciate and experience everything throughout life instead of waiting until death is imminent.

Death Education through the Acquisition of Knowledge:

Children and adolescence are interested in death and dying.  In many instances, they have already formed conscious and unconscious attitudes towards it but have generally been limitedly informed and educated in this common experience of all living beings (Ulin, 1977, p.8).

Knowledge is a learned experience as the different brain hemispheres record and process the data/stimuli that are reaching its awareness.  The characteristics of the bimodal mind reflect the different types of stimuli, reasoning, and responses the human will have as a result of having two hemispheres of consciousness (Gazzaniga, 1988).

The human brain is divided into three major parts, the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the medulla oblongata.  The largest part of the brain, the cerebrum, is believed to be the part of the brain where consciousness takes place.  The cerebrum is separated into two separate hemispheres, the left and right cerebral hemispheres.  Dependent upon which hemisphere is being attentive, will determine the type and level of awareness, thinking and response the human will have to acquiring information.  This information will then be assessed and assimilated with previously acquired data to form a personal experiential knowledge base.  The result of the assimilation of the bimodal consciousness experiences will help to incorporate the human concepts of intentionality, human purpose, potentiality, and overall optimal functioning (Krippner, 1990).

Researcher David Galin believes that although each hemisphere is exposed to the same sensory input, it effectively receive a different input because each emphasizes only one of the messages.  The left will attend to the verbal cues, and the right will attend to the nonverbal cues. (Springer & Deutsch, 1989, p.329).
 Knowledge is acquired through the conscious and unconscious awareness and all of the senses of the human body which are sent for interpretation, action, and recording to the appropriate cerebral hemisphere (Gazzaniga, 1988; Springer & Deutsch, 1989).  As an example, if a mother looks at a child and verbally says, "I love you," and her facial expression says, "I hate you," the child will be confused.  The child's left brain hears and understands "I love you," as a positive stimuli but the left brain reads the nonverbal stimuli of, "I hate you."  The child becomes uncomfortable because it rationally hears one thing, however, intuitively it knows another, based upon previous learning.  As the child matures, it is expected that if he/she is knowledgeable of the intuitive processes of the right side of the brain and nurtures its development, the child will tend to develop enhanced intuitive powers not by believing everything he/she hears, but will form an opinion or reaction based upon all available data.  This same example can be used in informal and formal death education.  If the educator, be it a family member or professional educator, presents information regarding death and dying in a positive, non-threatening manner yet his/her response to death and dying appears to be fearful and/or anxious, the learner will learn similar to the child, in the previous example.  Death education should be structured to address the needs of both hemispheres of the brain.

Due to the high emotional response that death education can invoke, it is important to structure a course in thanatology to address both hemispheres of the human brain.  The higher the individual's anxiety, the more likely learning will be effected by simply denying or repressing feelings, attitudes, and experiences associated with death and dying (Clark, 1975, p.36).

During our lives we are taught about dying and the death process through art, literature, music, dramatic interpretations, religion and philosophy, and through the vicarious experiences of others.  The use of literature and audio-visual media, to depict an event that is final and permanent for an individual, can be helpful in developing the knowledge to prepare the human for his/her own death or the death of others.  It is also an opportunity for the individual to learn to appreciate and experience life vicariously.  By seeing, hearing, or reading about the process of dying, the human can be detached from the process but can voyeuristically participate and learn about the process and act of dying.  Through the use of multi-media education tools, death education can nurture the strengths of each brain hemisphere and provide a balanced education for the human being regarding a basic fact of life - all living things die.  The use of these medias can vicariously educate the individual to the realities of death and dying by providing the person with examples of other individual's interpretations of death and dying.  According to sociologist Emilé Durkheim, "Education is only the image and reflection of society," (Clark, 1975, p.61).  If western society is going to return to an open and accepting attitude towards death and dying, teaching practices of this subject must be supportive and educational.

A Death Education Course:

In order for a thanatology course to meet the needs of the individual, in educating him/her regarding the realities of death and dying, the course should include the following components:
  1. A caring, informed, supportive instructor with experience in grief counseling.

  2. Appropriate learning resources such as, periodicals, books, films, music, and expert speakers.

  3. Discussions and research about individual attitudes about death, the causes of death, and the act of dying.

  4. Discussions that lead to an understanding that dying is a natural, inevitable process and how the acceptance of death leads to an ability to live a more enriched life and die peacefully.

  5. Discussions and research about the physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual processes associated with dying and death.

  6. Discussions and research about cultural and religious differences regarding death, dying, and after-life.

  7. Discussion and research about the opportunities for organ donation.

  8. Discussions and research about reported near-death experiences and after-death communication experiences.

Kalish states, "learning about death, dying, and loss, like learning about anything else, should combine personal experiences with the knowledge, insight, and experience of others.  These others include not only behavioral and health scientist but also philosophers, artists, and persons who are most experienced in being with and working with the dying, the dead, and the bereaved," (Kalish, 1984, p.18).

The following course is developed to involve the student in approximately 180-200 hours of lecture/discussion time and personal research and reporting time.  The course is designed for senior high school and college students.

This is a course outline for a study of the human experience of death and dying:

I. Introduction: Value Classification

 Objective:

 To identify and explain individual views, values, and attitudes associated with death and discuss the American cultural values about death-past and present.

 Activities:

 1.  Discussion: Analyze quotations about death

 2.  Survey: Administer an attitude survey (Psychology Today, 8/70, pp.67-72).

 3.  Film:  Dead Poets Society.

 4.  Readings: On Death and Dying.

 5.  Readings: Who Dies?.

 6.  Readings: On Borrowed Time.

 7.  Readings: Deathing.

 8.  Research: Assign a thanantological research project to class members.  A summary of the project will be presented to the class at the end of the course.
 

II. Physical Death

 Objective:

 To explain the medical components of death.

 Activities:

 1.  Speaker: Physician - To discuss the definitions of death and dying.

 2.  Speaker: Nurse - To discuss working with the dying individual and their family at home.

 3.  Readings: Death, Grief, and Caring Relationships.

 4.  Readings: Final Exit.
 

III. Dying

 Objective 1:

 To be able to state and explain several theories of thanatology regarding the stages of dying, and the relationships among the terminally ill individual, families, friends, and the medical community.

 Activities:

 1.  Readings: On Death and Dying.

 2.  Readings: Who Dies?.

 3.  Readings: Death, Grief, and Caring Relationships.

 4.  Readings: Deathing.

 5.  Report: Summarize the physical, psychological, spiritual aspects of death and dying.

 Objective 2:

 To identify and evaluate the attitudes expressed by dying individuals, families, and medical personnel through case studies and interviews.

 Activities:

 1.  Film:  Dying Young.

 2.  Film:  Beaches.

 3.  Readings: On Death and Dying.

 4.  Discussion: The value of dying at home or in an institution.

 5.  Speaker: Hospice worker - To discuss working with the dying individual and their family at home.

 6.  Speaker: An interview with a dying individual, a grieving family member or friend of an individual who is dying or has died.
 

IV. The Arts and Death

 Objective:

 To identify various values and themes present in art, music, and literature dealing with the subject of death and to be able to explain to what extent such values and themes correspond to the individual's own values and beliefs.

 Activities:

 1.  Speaker: Art Director - To review some classical art depictions of death and dying.

 2.  Musical selections: Dying Young

 3.  Musical selections: Beaches

 4.  Musical selections: Le Misérables.

 5.  Readings: Poetry - "The Wreck of the Hesperus".

 6.  Readings; Poetry - ""O Captain! My Captain!"

 7.  Readings: Death Be Not Proud.

 8   Readings: Love Story.

 9.  Readings: Johnny Got His Gun.

 10  Film:  Dying Young.

 11. Report: A student report comparing the   various values and themes presented in art forms with his/her personal values and beliefs.
 

V. The American Funeral

 Objective:

 To identify various American customs and procedures used in modern funeral practices.  Some relevant factors to be discussed would be: a) autopsy, b) embalming, c) cremation, d) wake, e) coffin, f) services, g) disposition of body.

 Activities:

 1.  Speaker: Pathologist

 2.  Speaker: Funeral Home Director

 3.  Field Trip: Funeral Home

 4.  Field Trip: Cemetery

 5.  Readings: Death, Dying, Grief, & Funerals.
 

 6.  Report: A student report of his/her personal desires for his/her final disposition after dying.
 

VI. Grief, Mourning, and Counseling: The Psychology of Death

 Objective:

 To be able to develop a response to help another when confronted with the reality of death in terms of loss, understanding, and acceptance.

 Activities:

 1.  Readings: Death, Grief, and Caring Relationships.

 2.  Readings: Death, Dying, Grief, & Funerals.

 3.  Discussion: Personal experiences with death and dying.

 4.  Film:  Ghost.

 5.  Speaker: Hospice bereavement counselor
 

VII. Comparative Cultural Views of Death

 Objective:

 To identify and describe several major beliefs, values, traditions, and practices of death, dying, funeral practices, and life after-death of different cultures and explain why these mores exist, and what factors might cause them to vary from locality to locality.

 Activities:

 1.  Speaker: Comparative Religion expert

 2.  Speaker: Christian Minister

 3.  Speaker: Jewish Rabbi

 4.  Speaker: Buddhist Master

 5.  Speaker: Hindu Master

 6.  Speaker: Agnostic

 7.  Speaker: Atheist

 8.  Readings: Death: The Final Stage of Growth.

 9.  Readings: Death, Grief, and Caring Relationships.
 

VIII. Euthanasia & Suicide

 Objective:

 To research various attitudes and beliefs regarding euthanasia, suicide, and capital punishment and be able to develop and defend a position on these issues.

 Activities:

 1.  Research: Gather current event articles regarding suicide, capital punishment, and euthanasia.

 2.  Readings: Case study readings from unsuccessful suicide attempts.

 3.  Readings: Let Me Die Before I Wake.

 4.  Readings: The Right to Die - Understanding Euthanasia.

 5.  Speaker: Hemlock Society member.

 6.  Speaker: Suicide counselor.

 7.  Discussion: Suicide, Euthanasia, and Capital punishment.

 8.  Report: Discuss personal beliefs regarding euthanasia, suicide, and capital punishment.
 

IX. Wills and Insurance

 Objective:

 To identify and explain the purposes of wills and insurance, the options available, and the advantages and disadvantages of wills and insurance.

 Activities:

 1.  Review sample wills.

 2.  Review sample life insurance policies.

 3.  Speaker: Life Insurance Representative

 4.  Speaker: Estate Attorney

 5.  Readings: Topic: Legal aspects of death.
 

X. Organ Donation

 Objective:

 To provide an understanding of the value of organ donation and the personal sacrifice of the bereaved family members.

 Activities:

 1.  Readings: Many Sleepless Nights.

 2.  Speaker: Organ Recipient

 3.  Speaker: Organ Donor Family member

 4.  Speaker: Member of Organ Recovery team.

 5.  Field trip: Attend an organ donor support group meeting.

 6.  Discussion: To discuss the attitudes of the advantages and disadvantages of organ transplantation.
 

XI. Life After Death Phenomena

 Objective:

 To gain insight into the phenomena of near-death experiences and after-death communications.

 Activities:

 1.  Readings: Life After Death.

 2.  Readings: Closer to the Light.

 3.  Readings: Heading Towards Omega.

 4.  Speaker: Near-death experiencer.

 5.  Speaker: After-death communication researcher.

 6.  Speaker: After-death communication experiencer.

 7.  Film:  Flatliners.

 8.  Film:  Ghost Dad.

 9.  Film:  Defending Your Life.

 10. Discussion: Near-death experiences.
 

XII. Summary of Course

 Objective:

 To review the subjects that have been discussed in this course and to determine the participants level of understanding and acceptance of death and dying.

 Activity:

 1.  Presentation: A summary presentations, to the class, of the research project done by course members.
 

This course employs a multi-media approach to education that will help the student to learn about and deal with his/her personal attitudes, philosophies, and feelings about death and dying.  Through the use of multi-media approaches, the student can learn using both hemispheres of his/her brain.

Conclusion:

An individual's ability to face the inevitability of death is a matter of education and experience (Ulin, 1977, p.11).  A formal death education course can assist individuals with dealing with the reality of death and its inevitability in life.  Learning to deal with death, either as the individual who is dying or as the caring person who is losing or has lost someone through death, is an important life skill.  By learning to accept death as a natural progression or stage in life, an individual can free him/her self from the fear of death and dying.  Anna Foos-Graber (1989) believes, "The benefits of prepared, voluntary actions at the death moment exceed the claims of the best savings plan or life insurance policy.  By allowing yourself to think about the unthinkable, you can make it less forbidding.  By facing up to your mortality, you will be able to fulfill your life in deeper, richer ways.  By taking responsibility for your death, you will be doing the most practical thing you could do for yourself, and the most selfless, giving thing you could do for your loved ones (p.29).

Western human kind's morbid attitude about death and dying are largely cultural and learned.  To develop an attitude of acceptance, an individual most become comfortable with this natural stage of life.  Author Jonathan Swift stated, "It is impossible that anything so natural, so necessary, and so universal as death, should ever have been designed by Providence as an evil to (human)kind," (Dyer, 1978, p.46).

Death educator, Richard Ulin's (1977), responses to some frequently asked question regarding death education summarizes the content of this paper and the suggested outline for a death education course.
 1. Why is there a need for death education?

  Death is a universal phenomena that effects all life and especially conscious human life.  The fears and apprehensions associated with death and dying need to be addressed

 2. What are the qualifications for effective death education teachers?

  Teachers should be compassionate, sensitive individuals, who are comfortable and informed with and about the subject of death, dying and grieving.

 3. Should the course change individual attitudes regarding death and dying?

  A realistic and appropriate goal of the course should be to inform and educate the student with the issues of death and dying and enable him/her to form his/her own opinion and attitude regarding the subject.

 4. Is it morbid and depressing to spend extended time on the subject of death and dying?

  Morbidity and depression are in the minds and attitudes of the individual and not in the subject matter.  The subject matter is not just about death and dying but about life and living.

 5. Can the success or worth of a death and dying education course be measured.

The personal success of a death and dying course, for the individual course participant, cannot be directly or immediately evaluated.  The retention of information and facts can be objectively measured by testing tools, however, the true value of the course will likely be measured in the future when the individual has to face his/her mortality or the death of a friend, co-worker, or family (Ulin, 1977, pp.46-49).

According to Kalish (1981), death is the ultimate touchstone of the human experience.  It is the ultimate organizer of time, the enemy of the self, and the leveler of all individuals.  Death is the ultimate uncertainty and certainty.  It is the ultimate negator of passions, plans, power, and personal growth in this life (p.5).  An appropriate death education course can help an individual come to an understanding and acceptance of the physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual aspects of death and dying and learn not to fear the inevitability of the final stage of this life.  "An acceptable death is a death which can be accepted or tolerated by the survivors," (Ariés, 1974, p.89).
 
 

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