Book club update:
Jake, Katherine, Sonia, Josie, Cherith, Patti, Rhonda, Sheila and I met today to discuss The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander by Barbara Coloroso. We had a very interesting discussion about bullying and meanness and the degree to which we think it's an issue among our students. We talked about the importance (and difficulty) of getting students out of the "bystander" role and of generally promoting among students the kind of behavior we want to see. One really great idea that emerged from the discussion (courtesy of Patti) was the idea of setting up a "big sibling" program where volunteers in the 7th and 8th grade would sign up to be a "big sib" to sixth graders -- perhaps starting as early as in the spring, when current 6th and 7th graders would go to meet their future "little sibs" at the Welcome Tea. Patti will share more ideas about this and hopefully we'll organize a meeting for any staff members who are interested in seeing this program start.
One really great thing that happened today at book club was that several people commented on how the various books we've been reading naturally complement each other. Hopefully this next book will continue to push our discussions even further. For next time, the book we'll be reading is >Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning by Peter H. Johnston:
We'll be meeting Wednesday, January 10 at 4:30 PM at Push Cafe. Please consider coming!
Also, looking ahead: we're hoping in future months to read some books about how different races experience school, and about homophobia-related issues. If you have any suggestions for good books on these topics, or would like to suggest other future topics, please speak up. Thanks!
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