PRESS RELEASE
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 19 , 2004 |
BUFFALO TEACHERS FEDERATION TO PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL-WIDE OPERATION RESPECT/DON'T LAUGH AT ME PROGRAM STARTED BY MUSICIAN PETER YARROW OF PETER, PAUL & MARY FAME
BUFFALO, NEW YORK (Friday, March 19, 2004) – Faced daily with the problems of violence and peer disrespect in the city's public school system, the Buffalo Teachers Federation (BTF) announced today that it will participate in a school-wide Operation Respect/Don't Laugh at Me program started by musician Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary fame.
The BTF Council of Delegates and the Buffalo Board of Education have both approved their participation in the nationwide program, which works to create Ridicule-Free Zones in schools and begins to create, build and foster respect, compassion and understanding with students of all ages. Yarrow, who was expected to speak to local media by phone from New York City during a news conference held at BTF headquarters today, is slated to perform in Buffalo Saturday along with Peter, Paul & Mary. He will take part in a BTF reception that evening to formally kick off the Operation Respect/Don't Laugh At Me program here in Buffalo.
BTF President Philip Rumore said that growing violence and peer disrespect in our schools across the United States - tragically highlighted by the killings at Columbine High School - "has presented teachers and school administrators with a grave crisis."
"With problems ranging from student-to-student violence to gang activity and peer district growing in our schools, there's a real need for educators to come together and work together to stop these practices before they truly do spiral out of control," he said. "Peter's program is not only based on solid common sense principals that work over the course of time, but the words in his song Don't Laugh at Me are extremely touching and underscore the point that we all have to do something to stop these problems that are slowly eroding the solid foundation in our schools that we have all worked so hard to build over the years," he said.
As part of the musical group Peter, Paul & Mary, Yarrow has helped make such songs as Puff, the Magic Dragon, Blowing in the Wind and If I Had a Hammer part of the national fabric.
"The whole Don't Laugh at Me program started with the song, discovered by my daughter, Bethany, and then played for Peter, Paul & Mary. It brought tears to our eyes when we first heard it, as it might to yours upon listening," Yarrow said.
Yarrow's song tells a story about a little boy with glasses, the one they call a geek. A little girl that never smiles 'cause I've got braces on my teeth and I know who it feels to cry myself to sleep. I'm that kid on every playground who's always chosen last, a single teenage mother trying to overcome my past. The song also asks those who listen, Don't laugh at me. Don't call me names. Don't get your pleasure from my pain.
As a result, Yarrow helped develop and design the Operation Respect/Don't Laugh at Me program with the assistance and support of several educational groups, including the National Education Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the American Federation of Teachers.
In the Operation Respect/Don't Laugh at Me program's informational materials, Yarrow said recent studies confirm that one of the primary causes for violence among children is peer disrespect or dissing. Fear, hurt and anger, springing from ridicule and bullying by other children can translate into severe emotional pain, as well as depression, violence, and in some cases, suicide. Yarrow said when social and emotional learning are introduced into the classroom, they have proved to be highly-effective tools for creating a safe, nurturing classroom environment, and by implementing the use of tested classroom techniques, they can, over time, move classrooms toward the elimination of ridicule, bullying, intolerance and name calling.
The BTF's nearly 4,000 members will be offered seminars on the program so they can learn how to correctly implement it in their classrooms and schools. The program includes a CD of inspirational songs, a video and lesson plans for students in grades Kindergarten through 8, and also includes activities and worksheets. Additional information in available on the Internet at www.dontlaugh.org.
"In a nutshell, Don't Laugh at Me is intended to serve as an introduction to, and enrichment of, ongoing efforts that nurture children's emotional, social and ethical development, such as character education, conflict resolution and teaching tolerance programs. As teachers progress in the program with suggested activities, combined with a video and CD the program offers, it will lead children on a path to create a Ridicule-Free Zone," Yarrow said.
"Together, you will have the opportunity to declare your classroom a space in which ridicule and other forms of disrespect, by mutual agreement, is not acceptable. Concurrently, children will learn how to resolve controversy and disagreements respectfully, creatively and non-violently. As children acquire new, advance socializing skills, heartfelt pledges to change can begin to become reality," Yarrow said.
BTF President Rumore said: "I am personally looking forward to the Buffalo Board of Education and the BTF and its members taking part in Peter's program, which cannot help but touch you when you listen to Don't Laugh at Me."
"The problems we're facing are something that we've all been through as children, but now as adults, we must all come together to eradicate the dissing, pain and sometimes subsequent violence that is hurting our children and our schools," Rumore said.