Wow this is a scary one!! I hope that you really praised your daughter for telling you this scary thing! Now, If she only felt comfortable enough to tell someone at school.
I think that is where the peer mediation idea is a great solution!! Chrystal...would you mind posting any contact info you have for this program (web site, phone, etc) so that we could all access this wonderful resource?!! I know that I'd love to start it up in our school!!
Boy that is a scary conversation to have with your child. Our school has a wonderful program called "Peer Mediation". The kids who are chosen actually go to workshops to learn how to deal with their classmates problems. If a child has a problem they turn in a slip to the office and a peer mediation session is set up right away. In your case your child would tell the peer mediator what she has heard and the mediator would take the info to the principal and not reveal who the person was that told. This program is a wonderful tool and the kids who are chosen to be mediators never abuse their position. I think it helps when kids have a problem to talk about it with other kids...it has also helped to bring kids together outside of mediation who normally would not have been friends.
Hello All,
Recently a boy in my daughter's class was suspended for bringing a pocketknife into school. Shortly after that, my daughter overheard this same boy tell another classmate that is plans to bring a gun to school. She shared this with me when we were talking about the recent school shooting in Santee, CA. I asked her if she told her teacher & she told me she didn't because she did not want to get into trouble for tattling.
Does anyone know of a workshop, seminar, program, printed material that can provide information for teachers to communicate to the students the difference between tattling and telling?
Our local Police Dept. is very active in our schools & we have a great relationship with the officers. They are responsive when they hear about this type of stuff. My concern is that the police cannot do anything if they don't hear about it. They are in the process of running workshops with the teachers to open up communication between the teachers and the police dept. Many teachers are reluctant to pass on disturbing information to the police dept. for fear of violating a trust. I think this is more of an issue with the older kids. My daughter is in the elementary school.
I realize this is a huge issue & I would certainly appreciate any information or suggestions you may have.
