It Gets Better

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!