On Wednesday, I hope everyone wore pink and took a minute and think… the one thing every child will ask their parent(s) at least once is, “When will I ever need this information I’m being taught in school in the real world?”
I have to wonder why we are not making a mandatory course in our schools for every grade – from kindergarten to graduation – that will help teach our children respect, accountability, responsibility, acceptable behaviour and general human kindness.
Yes, these are things to be taught at home, but as times change, social media and technology have changed the world.
Why can’t we make a change?
Why can’t we make it part of the curriculum and give these kids the life skills they will be able to utilize throughout their life?
Consider something like this, for primary level (kindergarten to Grade 4): “Friendship and Acceptance” ; for intermediate (Grades 4-7): “Community and Your Role in It”; and then for high school: “Making a Difference.”
We could incorporate social media, technology, community and teamwork.
Maybe it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty and utilize the one source we all share – our schools.
Maybe we can teach our children young enough that they won’t have a chance to grow into a bully.
We can break the cycle and make our schools a place where all our children want to go.
Bullying changes people’s lives, but we as parents have the power to fight back and truly make a change. Or we can stay on this same path and just keep talking about it.
Again, I hope you wore pink yesterday, not just because you “wish” bullying would stop, but rather because you really want to see a change and make a difference.
Michelle Cozzuol