Erin Joyner, our brand new Middle Grades Counselor, talks about the first Building Character and Community (BCC) trait everyone – age 3 – grade 8 – will discuss during September – RESPECT!
Erin will tackle each new trait as it’s introduced to students. Be on the lookout for great tips on how you can continue the BCC conversation at home in each article!
Respect is the foundation for healthy relationships, inclusive communities, and personal self-care. It is the fundamental value that guides Building Character and Community (BCC), our character-building curriculum at TCS, and the most important for individuals and groups to thrive. Of all eight BCC traits, respect is the obvious choice for our community to define and celebrate in our first six weeks.
Respect lives and breathes at micro and macro levels throughout our campus. We show care and respect for ourselves by recognizing our needs and tending to them. We respect all educators and students on campus, knowing that the roles of adult and child learner are often interchangeable. Our environment, our spaces, our materials demand our respect – in fact, our whole community pledged to this principle in unison at our ribbon-cutting ceremony. And in our interactions, we recognize, name, and respect differences in identity, culture, and perspective.
In a few short weeks, the Wolf Pack has already demonstrated its collective mastery of this concept. From kindergarten students reorganizing the playground blue blocks – in order to maintain our materials and spaces; to middle grades students declaring that the platinum rule – treat others the way they want to be treated – is the most vital for our classrooms, we have tangible evidence that students at all levels can and will rise to the occasion of showing character. Our goal is for this skill to be further enhanced, developed, and utilized as your student progresses through the year.
Respect can also be complex when addressing conflict or working through a difficult conversation. This is often when our students need guidance most. By supporting healthy resolutions and allowing each voice to be heard, we are continuously fostering positive relationship development and building the empathetic leaders we know students to be.
BCC does not only live from morning carpool to Extended Day – we encourage you to continue these conversations at home. Here are some conversation starters to use with students of all ages:
- When is a time that you felt you or a classmate did not receive the respect they deserve? What did you do to handle it?
- How do you show respect for students who are different from you?
- What does it mean to disagree respectfully?
- What does it mean to respect yourself?
- What are your favorite ways to show respect?
We are excited to kick-off BCC and celebrate throughout the year. If you have any questions about this curriculum, or a student story to share, please reach out to Natalie Grubbs or me, Erin Joyner.
