Julene Reed says that our students will need to be able to work with people from all parts of the world. I am not sure that students need to travel very far to encounter people from many parts of the world. I have had many students from different parts of the world including: Mexico, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Germany, Korea, etc. Many of my students and/or their parents were not born in the United States. I remember answering someone who asked me if the kids spoke Spanish at recess, that because the kids come from so many different backgrounds, English was the only language they all understood and that is all I usually hear at P.E./Recess.

Gardner asserts that ‘By the age of five, at the latest, the lines for friendship or hostility, group inclusion or group exclusion …have already been drawn.” Gardner also states, “An ethical orientation begins at home.” I see this idea in the striking differences among my students. Some students come to school and they are very respectful. They have care and respect for their belongings, school property and learning. I never hear anything hurtful coming out of their mouths. Obviously, they have been exposed to good role models. However, other students flounder. They don’t know how to make friends. They push fellow classmates away by their words and actions. A few students have little respect for property (their own or others) and they don’t think twice about pushing the other student out of the way or saying something that will hurt another student’s feelings.

Our school has a program called Second Step which is designed to build feelings of inclusiveness and respect. The Second Step website claims the program is research-based and demonstrated effective. “Research indicates that children who are socially competent perform better academically.” The program provides lessons that teach skills that promote empathy, emotion management, problem solving and cooperation. The lessons include discussions, role-playing and video. I have not really used this yet, but my current students’ first grade teacher found the program very valuable.

Since being able to work with others will be an essential skill for students, I plan to start teaching some of the Second Step lessons. I am glad that this reading has reminded me, “Teachers serve as crucial models.” This is important because some of my students don’t have positive role models at home.

For those that don’t have Second Step at their school, I found a very good video by searching for “respect” in the Discovery Streaming Library, the title is Respecting Differences. This K-2 video lists “understanding the importance of giving and getting respect” under its learning objectives. The part I viewed was very good and would be easily understood by my students and could also lead to good discussions.