By Nicole Falco
In the days and weeks leading up to the national holiday, students in classes throughout Valley Stream read and learned Dr. King's famous, "I have a dream" speech. They learned of his life and teachings in their social studies lessons and shared their own "dreams" with each other. They created short plays, speeches and artwork, and learned the meaning of King's golden rule.
"Treat others the way you want to be treated," was the focus of the lesson taught by Maureen Florio at Carbonaro Elementary School. Florio has spent three years in District 24 as part of the district's Character Education Program. "Violence Prevention Initiative Day" was recognized on Jan. 18 at Carbonaro in keeping with the spirit of King's message.
The day's lesson was called "Peacemakers in Our Lives," a lesson they also learned after Sept. 11's terrorist attacks, but as Florio put it, "We are doing it again because it is such an important lesson."
Students were asked to name someone in their lives they consider a peacemaker, as King had been a man of peace, and what qualities make that person a peacemaker. In addition, Florio stressed the importance of diversity. "If we weren't different, we'd be boring," Florio told James Friel's fourth grade class and said it again to Andrea Sommella's students.
Florio reminded the students about the importance of looking past a person's "cover story." "The cover [or our skin] is not who we are, it is to protect what is inside. ... Who we are is our heart and our mind," Florio said.
To bring the point home, she used the example of the cardboard box a television comes in as being the cover, but the television inside the box is what has value.
The lesson made an impact on the young students. One student said, "It doesn't matter what somebody looks like on the outside. All that matters is that they are a good person on the inside."
Florio also recalled the words of another student who said, "Dr. King was a person of peace who was killed by a person of violence."
Students were also asked to carry the lesson home with them by doing something nice for someone else over the three-day weekend. Character education is something students learn throughout the year and not just at King's birthday. The program, offered through Lion's Quest of Quest International, is a sequential program in District 24 in which students take part from kindergarten through sixth grade. It covers aspects of conflict resolution from what to do when being bullied to anti-discrimination lessons and anger management. Also, each month the district chooses a different word, which is then emphasized throughout their lessons. Past themes have been "friendship," "personal responsibility." The current theme is "respect."
