Schools

Respect is Child's Play at Concord Elementary

Teachers and staff performed a series of skits Wednesday emphasizing kindness toward others.

Good teachers lead by example when teaching respect in the classroom. 

The staff at took the lesson one step farther Wednesday by performing a series of self-written and produced skits that show kids how to treat others with kindness.

“We make our own anti-bullying assembly,” said social worker Amy Malone of the annual tradition.

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Teachers stood in the students’ shoes in situations kids might encounter on a daily basis at recess or during lunch.

One “student” littered in the bathroom while another encouraged him to pick up the used paper towel and toss it in the trash.

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Another called a friend stupid for slowly passing out papers. When he told the girl how it made him feel, she apologized for hurting his feelings.

After each skit, the real students were asked to identify the bad behaviors. 

“They were spot on with finding the poor choices,” Malone said.

Concord guidance counselor Helen Park said the purpose of the lesson was to help students take ownership for how they allow themselves to be treated — what the school refers to as I-messages. 

“Rather than saying ‘You did this,’ it’s ‘I felt this way, I would like you to stop,’” she said.

Bullying is not a big problem with the young students at Concord, who range in age from preschool to fourth grade. 

But programs such as this help teach the children the empathy that lays the foundation for treating others respectfully throughout their school years, Malone said.

“It stems from the little things,” she said.

And the message seems to be getting through. 

"We got rave reviews from the kindergartners," Malone laughed.


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