Last Friday, July 2nd we had our first family guided conversation. We wanted to address topics concerning bullying, racism and respect. I was nervous about guiding my family group at first because I feared they would struggle with the conversation, but I was pleasantly surprised when everyone participated and had very reflective, sincere and intelligent answers to group questions.
The purpose of the conversation was to reflect on issues and topics that the teachers identified as relevant to our students. The questions that were presented were:
- What do you do when you have a conflict with someone?
-
If someone said that Chile was the worst soccer team ever, how would you respond?
- If someone looks different than you, how would you treat them?
- What is bullying?
- If you catch your friend bullying someone, what would you say to him or her?
- Who would you go to for help if someone is making fun of you or bullying you?
-
Is bullying an issue here a Bridge?
- How do you treat others that do not always agree with your opinion? At school? Home?
Most days at lunch the kids in my family group start out at the same table but within a few minutes they have all run off and are at all corners of the quad. But when it came time to sit down together and have our discussion on Friday, without difficulty the kids began to bounce ideas off each other and talk without any uncomfortable moments. What really struck me was the sincere way the kids answered the following question without hesitation: If someone looks different than you, how would you treat them? Their answer was: 'the same'.
Seeing the kids sitting in a circle around me answering difficult questions better than I could answer gives me a sort of sense of pride. Their ability to describe the concept of bullying came from themselves and not me. Yet the fact that they can do it makes me realize that they are well on their way to be able to express themselves, think freely, and reach to even greater heights.