What Unites and Divides

Thus spoke JZ :

Elisa Waters, the teacher featured in this article, was on the panel I attended yesterday, the theme of which is anti bullying and cyber-bullying.  As a single adult who grew up outside of US, I was definately a minority among the audience.  However, ever since this issue aroused my interest a few years ago, I have not ceased the efforts to know more about it.  Needless to say this society has failed to address this pervasive problem for way too long, and we have been witnessing terrible consequences. 

The very persisting existence of this phenomenon relies on the fact that we adults (administrators, teachers, parents) will not do much about it, as believed by both the bullies and the vicitims.  Many people even think it is an inevitable part of adolescent life which might "help build characters".

According to research, those schools that have clearly stated anti-bullying policies already have reduced bullying cases; if there is someone, adult or kids' peer, who stands up to stop it, the chance of it happening is reduced by 1/3 to 1/2.  So there are many things we can do to help youth so they can feel safe to go to school every day.  This article tells a very promising example to "build acceptance, awareness and appreciation that people may be different than you".

This issue certainly derserves more attention and I will write more in the future.


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“We can feel stronger going back to our hallways,” the teacher, Elisa Weidenbaum Waters, said, “going back to our homes, going back to our society, and saying: ‘You know what? What you said is a stereotype, and that’s not cool.’
...
This year, Jericho, a high-performing district, is offering an unusual elective for its middle-school students that channels the soul-searching and team-building activities of a diversity workshop into a yearlong class for credit. The course, which focuses on diversity, “will have you actively thinking about everything from food through language in a way you may never have before as we learn about what unites and divides all of us, and why,” a description said.
“What I’m looking to do,” said Ms. Waters, 40, who has long been active in social causes, “is build acceptance, awareness and appreciation that people may be different than you.”
...
As a group, the students have become unusually close.  “I know thousands of things about every single person in this class,” said Sam Newman, 13, an eighth grader. “We’re learning how to make the world a more connected place.”

[Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/nyregion/23metjournal.html]