Demanding dignity in middle schools

Bullying is nothing new in middle schools, and with the advent of the Internet it’s become an issue outside of the classrooms, hallways and cafeterias as well. To combat the problem and to teach students to stand up for themselves and their classmates, Baldwin played host to about 60 middle schoolers last week from across the county.

The Nassau County Anti-Bias Consortium, which county superintendents established in 1994 in response to various hate crimes, held a conference on March 4 at Baldwin’s District Office. Students in grades six, seven and eight from 10 middle schools attended the all-day event, that featured a motivational speaker, ice breaker activities and group lessons on respect, dignity and bullying.

Fran Manas, a home and careers teacher at Baldwin Middle School for 28 years, coordinated the event and brought 20 seventh graders with her last week. Eight BMS students led several of the group lessons after attending the Anti-Bias Consortium’s book talk in the fall.

The different group activities focused on respecting yourself and others, Manas said. The 20 students from BMS who attended the event, Manas added, were selected because of their leadership skills and performance in the classroom. “I want them to be able to pass it on,” she said of what the students learned during the conference. “These are kids that the other kids respect.”

Seventh grader Jolene Ciccarone was teaching a lesson based on the book “One” by Kathryn Otoshi, a story about a student being bullied and how others can play a role in making a difference. Ciccarone said she and her classmates were focusing on, “One thing you can do change someone’s life, not just to stop someone from being bullied but for your community as well.”

Pia Sanchez, an assistant principal at Port Washington Middle School and executive board member of the Anti-Bias Consortium, said these types of events aren’t held as often anymore due to budget cuts, but the consortium plans on hosting a spring conference each year moving forward.