Students Learn Life Lessons

The students at Lumberton Middle School are not only learning the science, social studies, math, and English in the classroom, they are learning what it takes to be better people.

Students beginning their sixth grade year at Lumberton Middle School are exposed to a theme in orientation called “Different is Better.” This is part of the school’s “RATHIDAPS” (Respect and Tolerance Highlight Individual Differences and Promote Safety) initiative—which supports the goal to expand the school’s focus on respecting differences and learning about how to value others and, in turn, become better people themselves.

Because this initiative is such a positive concept, the school wanted to create related programs for all grades. The “Different is Better” theme was developed for the seventh grade students as a class called “Character Education.” The purpose of this class is to build a foundation for school harmony and safety. The school used grant money “…to develop a character education curriculum and reinforce the key themes of respect, responsibility, tolerance, and safety.” Principal Patricia Hutchinson hopes this program will develop within the students “a sense of understanding of their responsibility to their world and to themselves as human beings.” Ms. Hutchinson says that there are plans to “expand these concepts to the eighth grade and reinforce them through community service projects.”

In addition to these programs, the students at Lumberton Middle School have been learning a lot about the world since the tragedy of September 11th. In October, they attended an assembly where they learned about what a hero is, and that heroes aren’t always people in uniform--there are “regular” kids and adults who do heroic things too. The focus of this assembly was that anyone can make a difference in another person’s life. The students learned the five things important to remember when trying to be the kind of person who can be another’s hero: decide to be a hero to yourself; don’t be afraid to ask for help; care about other people; stand up to do what is right; and have courage.

These socially-aware students aren’t only focused on diversity and heroism, they are also interested in problems affecting their community. They held a special event at the end of last year called “Project Lost Lives” where they recognized the alarming number of U.S. teenagers who are lost each year in a drug- or alcohol-related death. This project was a visually effective project, as eighth-graders were chosen at random and had their faces painted white. They spent their day in white-face and in silence, representing those teens who were once someone’s friend, someone’s child but who are no more. They carried with them a pledge to be drug-free and had students sign the pledge throughout the day. It was a different and successful way to foster awareness of the dangers of drugs and alcohol. As these students learn more and are challenged and encouraged to become better people, we will all benefit from their efforts.

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Author: R Cohen