The Keith Valley K'NEX program was developed as part of Hatboro-Horsham's commitment to preventing and reducing substance abuse among students. The K'NEX program specifically focuses on preventing bullying and promoting respect and kindness among students.
As part of this mission, this week, Keith Valley brought in keynote speaker, Ed Gerety, a leadership development expert, to address issues of respect, responsibility and accountability with the middle school kids. Mr. Gerety was very well received by the students.
Mr. Gerety's message is really quite simple when you think about it - everything is about choice. We have a choice to be successful, to be a leader, to be healthy, to be positive, to be kind ... the possibilities are endless. The greatest choice, according to Mr. Gerety, is the choice to lead by example. His message is somewhat counter to the typical, "it's not good enough to talk the talk. You also have to walk the walk." His message is different - not only do people need to walk the walk, but they must also talk the talk.
What this means for middle school students is they have a choice to, say, sit back and do nothing when their friend is being bullied. The leader is the one who refuses to sit and watch someone being bullied, and they will be vocal about the fact that bullying is wrong. That leader will intervene in a way that shows others, "I will not tolerate this, and neither should you," and those bystanders will also hear the message, "This is not okay!"
One 7th grade Keith Valley student took this away from the program - Don't make fun of other people because you never know what's going on for that person.
To illustrate this point, the student gave an example Mr. Gerety used in his presentation. An 8th grader was being made fun of by a bunch of seniors because he wore the same shirt 3 days in a row. What the seniors didn't know is, this 8th grader's brother has lukemia. The 8th grader spent the last few nights in the hospital all night because his brother is so sick.
This 7th grade student went on to confirm, I know people don't always get what's going on for me. I'm going to try to remember that too - I don't know what's going on for other kids.
For this 7th grader to go into such detail, Mr. Gerety certainly made an impression! And it sounds like his message came through.
From Ed Gerety's blog, Remember the words of Frank Outlaw. Frank Outlaw said, "Watch your thoughts, your thoughts become your words. Watch your words, your words become your actions. Watch your actions, your actions become your habits. Watch your habits, your habits become your character. Watch your character, your character becomes your destiny.”
What a fantastic message.
Continue reading for more information on Hatboro-Horsham School District's plan to engage the community in their efforts to reduce and prevent substance abuse.
Ed Gerety on kindness & Students' reactions to his motivational presentation
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