Tolerance is led by example

Published 8:00 am Saturday, November 25, 2006

As Poulsbo Elementary students buzzed about the lunchroom Nov. 14, sharing conversation with someone new, the foundation for acceptance was being cemented.

And though it may have been subliminal to their pre-teen minds, they were accomplishing a feat that adults and kids alike struggle with daily: stepping out of their comfort zone.

The school celebrated national Mix it Up at Lunch day with the purpose of facilitatating better open communication between the whole student body. The geeky boy sitting and talking with the jocks, the preppy girl sharing a conversation with the soft spoken, shy bookworm; these were all scenarios for which assistant principal Carol Cleveland and the school’s Associated Student Body had planned that day.

Surprising as it may be for some, social cliques and the outcasting that typically accompanies them are flooding kids’ worlds even at the elementary school level. For many reasons, the once high school-esque drama is appearing at younger and younger ages, therefore affecting kids in greater and longer lasting ways.

A person may never forget — for better or worse — being chastised and outcast in grade school. The sad fact of the matter is, in many cases those painful memories are largely in vain. After harassing someone for being a deviate from the trend of that particular week, bullies are likely to move on and forget while those victims will carry the scar for much longer.

Kids can be so cruel.

However, they are, in the rarest form, the products of this society. If their behavior is ever to change for the better, it will first be the adults around them who must positively alter their attitudes. Like it or not, kids constantly learn from the actions which create the world around them.

Unfortunately, all too many of those influences are controlled by broadcasting companies and major motion pictures. However, that gives all the more reason for those who interact with kids daily to portray a positive personna and encourage the same.

Difference — a characteristic that typically invokes fear — is merely a consequence of individuality — one characteristic which this nation was founded upon. The sooner we, as a society, realize, accept and embrace that fact, the sooner our children can begin to do the same.

In reality, kids will likely be quicker to change.

That’s why the Herald supports school activities like Mix It Up at Lunch Day and encourages all North Kitsap residents to take some time to step out of their comfort zone and open-mindedly explore something that is unknown.

Because kids’ behavior will always be influenced by that which they are shown.