Another Pink Shirt Day has come and gone.
My daughter was excited to get dressed up in her pink shirt for school yesterday. She actually went all out, dressing in pink from head to toe. We had talked about what the day meant and she told me that she had learned about the history of the day at a school assembly earlier in the week. When we arrived at school, our principal was outside greeting all the kids and commenting on their outfits. There were some kids who weren’t wearing pink…to them she said, “no worries…you can always makes something during the day if you want to.”
There were some art projects from classes along the walls and hanging in the windows. Messages of tolerance, acceptance and empathy were visible.
Yet, when my daughter got home from school I asked her what they did in class for Pink Shirt Day, to which she replied, “nothing.”
Nothing?
I probed. “Did you talk about it?”
No.
“Did you read a story?”
No.
“Watch a video?”
No.
“Do some artwork?”
No.
Please don’t get me wrong. Our school is very pro-acceptance, tolerance and empathy. I know it is part of the daily conversation and is woven into the school values. I also respect that every teacher is different and has their own way of working these lessons into a curriculum. Our teacher is lovely, compassionate and kind. I was just surprised.
I posted about this on my Facebook page and got quite a response. I was even more surprised that there were entire schools that did nothing for Pink Shirt Day. One commenter even said:
“My daughter’s school doesn’t talk about bullying. Her principal feels that it encourages kids to complain about bullying.”
WTF??? This is absurd.
Another commenter stated:
“If you want your child to know about Pink Shirt Day, have a conversation with them! As a teacher, I know that teachers in every school are dealing with bullying/kindness issues every single day. I agree that it’s nice on a day like yesterday to put extra emphasis on it, but parents can read books and do art projects too – and they don’t have a whole other growing curriculum to teach on top of it. Teachers are over-worked and expected to teach their students everything from “be nice” to “eat your veggies” never mind how to read and write and add and think critically. If this subject is important to you, take on the responsibility.”
While I do believe that these lessons begin at home, I also believe that it truly takes a village to raise the next generation of citizens. One day a year, is not necessarily going to end bullying, but it does raise a great deal of awareness on the subject. I am grateful for this in any and every capacity. And, please know, I value the hard work teachers put in every. single. day. to teach our children not only academics but kindness, compassion and empathy also.
What do you think? Did it matter to you what activities took place in your child’s school or classroom for Pink Shirt Day?
The post What would you think if your child’s class or school did nothing for Pink Shirt Day? appeared first on the thirties grind.