I am so proud of all of you today. We had a wonderful, thoughtful discussion at the end of the day before our long weekend. I am proud of you for listening to one another, supporting one another and showing maturity.
There was a lot of heavy stuff that we talked about and you are all probably processing the discussion in different ways. In fact, I heard one of you educating a student in another class about the importance of the words we use.
I wanted to make some videos available to you if you are interested in watching them. These are some of the things I was referring to in class today. I have embedded youtube clips, which you will not be able to watch at school, but you can at home.
For a bonus, write a post on your own blog (link back to this post and leave me a comment to let me know you've done it) reflecting on what we talked about today and/or relating the issues to your own experiences. Not everyone got to share their stories today, but now you have a chance to share them online. Start a post, write a poem, a story or your thoughts.
Remember:
When things get rough, you'll get through it. It gets better.
Words are extremely powerful. Be cautious about how you use them and how you respond to the ways others use them.
There are people out there who love you and care about you more than you'll ever know. When you need help, turn to them. (One of those people is me, by the way.)
On Glee, Kurt's dad, Burt, responds to Finn's hurtful words about his son.
My favourite actor, Neil Patrick Harris tells you it gets better.
The wonderful Ellen Degeneres talks about teenage bullying and the crisis that we have been hearing about this month.
Chris Colfer (Glee's Kurt) tells you it gets better.
For more information and support, you can check out The Trevor Project.
UPDATE: Please take some time to visit Hannah's blog and read her response to our talk. She has written beautifully and honestly.
Thank you for your tolerance, empathy and support of one another. I am a proud teacher.
Be safe and happy this Thanksgiving weekend!
8 comments:
It was a really important topic, i am glad you brought it up Ms. Pollock! It took me back to the days when i was bullied, i felt really bad but the "it gets better" phrase gave me more hope that IT will get better. Thank you so much, Ms. Pollock!
Thank-you so much for that discussion today! I think it was really important. I posted my opinion on the topic and my raps on my blog. Check them out, thanks!!
-Hannah
Hi Miss Pollock,
From the sound of things, it seems like you're class must have had a very meaningful conversation today. That's fantastic. I've been following the news coming out of the US about the wave of teen suicides, and it is absolutely heartbreaking. I think we have all been bullied or felt alone at some point, and I think that it's really important that all of these celebrities (who are definitely role models for lots of teens out there) are making these videos to help people. I think it's great that you posted these to your blog--whatever it takes to get the message out! Kudos.
We will be working on an entire unit focusing on tolerance, prejudice, and equity. The Wicked trip will be the final candle on the cake. We chose this show because the lead character (Elphaba) deals with extreme intolerance and prejudice, and I think we can all learn from her experiences (even if they are fictional). After we see the show, we will all most definitely post reviews for you to read! It will definitely be interesting to see the different ways the students interpret the show!
Things are looking great so far! We're having some internet troubles, but it looks like a lot of my students are getting work done at home (very good to see)!
Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!
Gobble Gobble
oh Miss Pollock you are an amazing teacher and very inspiring.Thanks
That was a very inspiring and important discussion that was meant to be heard. Thank you. It made me think back to my childhood. I made a post reflecting on the discussion. Check it out!
I'm going to listen around to what people are saying at school and see if people stop using those hurfull words and comments. I really think that conversation made some people realize what they were actually saying, I hope this makes a difference in our daily lives!
Hi, Ms. Pollock!
How is your long weekend going so far? Hope it's going great!
I just finished my post about bullying. Visit my blog and check it out, please. It's a poem. It works the best for me, because it's the only way i can express my thoughts and feeling in a powerful way.
Enjoy!
MIss pollock can u post the questions for the 4 3 2 1 because i forgot my sheet at school.
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