On Monday, I had the opportunity to talk with Sadie Harper-Scott, the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Tippecanoe School Corporation (TSC). Sadie is passionate about changing the culture of what type of behavior is acceptable at school. She is leading trainings for students and teachers to put a stop to name calling. They are making it possible for students and teachers to safely and confidentially share what they are experiencing.
How many students in our West Lafayette schools get made fun of because of their race or ethnicity, their appearance, their sexual orientation, their religion or because they are not smart enough, not athletic enough, or because their family is not wealthy? My own experience visiting schools across the Lafayette area when I was working for Purdue leads me to believe that we have less of this negative behavior than is common at other schools. But, reading through the heartbreaking accounts from our own students posted at www.wlcare.org/stories is evidence enough that we need to do better!
The picture above is from the “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” book that we used at Cumberland / WLES to discourage name calling. Actions or words that show that you care about someone is “bucket filling” behavior. Saying or doing unkind things is “bucket dipping” behavior. Ask your kids if they remember bucket filling!
Dacia Mumford 