Peer mediators teach acceptance at elementary schools

By Suproteem Sarkar, Convergence Editor

From April 30-May 3, members of the Peer Mediation Students Teaching About Respect (STAR) program visited T/E elementary schools to teach students about acceptance. Mediators read the picture book “Lillian Learns to Dance” to students and asked them to sign a pledge supporting tolerance.

Freshman Matt Farrell, who also attended a STAR trip in February, said the students learned from the lessons and could relate to the mediators.

“When you walk into the classroom, all their faces brighten when they [see] high schoolers coming to see them,” Farrell said. “It really shows us how welcoming they are and how valuable we actually are to them.”

Senior Stacey Anderson, secretary of the Peer Mediation Links program, said that STAR presentations are different from regular lessons in that they require students to develop their own solutions to scenarios.

“We try and get the kids to interact with us,” Anderson said. “We give them a prompt and try and get them to come up with their own solutions, which helps them to be able to have good thought process and will help them in the long run of being able to solve their own problems when they become teenagers.”

After interacting with the students and joining them during recess, freshman Chris Doms said he felt that the trips were a success.

“They learned what it really means to accept someone,” Doms said. “It’s to respect everyone no matter their differences.”

Suproteem Sarkar can be reached at ssarkar@stoganews.com.