On election day, I am asking for your vote! A teacher’s point of view will be valuable to the school committee when creating policies that address the needs of our students and our community.
Bullying is a nationwide problem and it happens in our community. We need to first teach our students what bullying is, and how to stop it! We need to strengthen our culture of respect. We need to address the mental health needs of our students.
A teacher’s classroom strategies are designed to promote productive behaviors from her students. Imagine a teacher's strategies applied at a district wide level - it can be an effective tool in battling the problem of bullying. By celebrating and rewarding the opposite of bullying we can inspire our students to demonstrate kindness and compassion. At the same time, bullying is a “cry for help. By addressing the underlying problems that are causing the bullying we can extinguish it.
Our schools need to have policies and procedures that help kids address their underlying internal conflicts. Our first tackle of defense is having trained adjustment counselors who are available to our kids. Our trained counselors are the gateway to resources that help families tackle underlying internal conflicts that generate bullying.
Authentic quality learning requires students to feel safe in their classrooms, playgrounds and cafeterias. When students know their educators have a plan of action to keep them safe from bullying, they are able to focus on their role as student.
