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FEBRUARY 2006

From the Superintendent’s Seat:
Getting Along

By Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs

If your children are doing well academically in school, it’s great.

Another part of school is the social component. If your child has a conflict with his or her classmates, it may be necessary for you to intervene. Once you have a clear picture of what is happening, call the teacher and ask if he or she has observed the situation you are concerned about. Don’t wait too long to see if the situation resolves itself on its own, particularly if you feel your child is being mistreated or picked on by another child or group of children. If your child’s teacher is unable to turn things around, it may be necessary to take your concerns to another professional.

There is a universal need for character education in our schools. We need to teach our children that they must treat one another with respect and dignity and show no tolerance for behavior that threatens or harms others. Your school should have a proactive campaign to teach and model appropriate behavior for all students.

In Syosset, we have a strong character education program in all of our schools, from elementary through the high school. We talk with our students about how their behavior affects others. In our Peer Educators program we train high school students to meet with third grade classes and discuss conflicts that can arise between students and how they should best be handled. They use role playing and games to get the message across to the younger children. A program that began in the high school and has been adapted by the elementary and middle schools is Syosset PRIDE.  It stands for Patience, Respect, Integrity, Dignity, and Empathy, and serves as a guide for students to model their own behavior.

We also have a Peer Mediation program in our schools, in which children are trained to mediate disputes between classmates and help them come to a peaceful solution. Our Peer Mediators learn how to listen to both sides of a disagreement and validate the feelings of each individual. By empowering our students in this way we are giving them the tools they need to resolve conflicts, and helping them understand that peaceful, thoughtful solutions to problems are beneficial to everyone.

As parents, we need to listen carefully to what our children say.

Assure your children that they will have your help. When parents and administrators stand firm and give clear instructions on acceptable conduct, we can help our children to get along at school and in the world.#

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