Today was the day....

I got up this morning and put on a fall appropriate outfit—yes, fall not Fall.  I chose an outfit that would survive an on stage fall.  Today was the day I was going to do the hip-hop dance at the bullying assembly that I mentioned in an earlier post.  I reported to rehearsal on time—didn’t always keep time with my steps but learned the moves and made it through the performance.  Luckily there was another teacher, about 15 school kids, and the group presenting dancing on stage—I could blend in a bit. 

The assembly was really good.  The performers were all middle school and high school aged kids.  They talked about local incidents as well as national.  They sang, they danced, and they acted out some scenarios.  They related to the students and got the message across.   Their message for the kids was about stopping bullying and making a difference.  They also talked about how important it is to have trusted adults who work with kids like teachers, principals, coaches, and youth services librarians and the importance of reporting for both kids and adults. 

I am planning a lesson to continue the discussion and I am sure there will be more lessons to follow.  I might use part of Flowers for Algernon (there is an excerpt in our Literature books) and talk about how Charlie was treated to reinforce the message.