By Greg Nikkel
Students at Queen Elizabeth School were encouraged to respect each other and help each other, as Roughriders player Dan Clark presented the Red Cross anti-bullying program on Thursday.
He made presentations to the K-2 group of students first, then the Grades 3-6 students, before he went outside at recess time to join the students for some fun on the playground, playing some pickup touch football with them.
Clark was interactive with the students as he went through the presentation, beginning with the senses of seeing, hearing and feeling.
“When a new student comes into school, what do they see? People with responsibility, like teachers. Will the student see, are you guys helping each other? What about smiles, and people laughing and seeing people being respectful. Those are good things,” he said as he elicited responses from each question from the young students.
“What do they hear? Kind words? What about being respectful to each other, and treating others how you want to be treated?” he asked.
Students also need to feel welcomed, said Clark, and asked, “How does that make you feel? Does it make you feel good?”
Asking if the students liked everyone in their class or school, he said, “Sometimes on the football team, I don’t like everyone, but I respect them. Showing respect is key.”
Clark, who plays centre for the Riders, said he will be joining his teammates for the start of training camp on Friday, May 18.
“I’m going to have a new set of friends, and I’ll need to be respectful there,” he said. “It comes down to healthy relationships. You guys are starting to do that now. What do you like about your friends? They respect you, right? They’re kind, honest, they make you feel good and welcome, they play with you, and they can help you.”
Listing the factors of healthy relationships, Clark said these include trust, communication, conflict resolution, being supportive, and having respect for boundaries.
“When we talk about healthy relationships in kindergarten, you’re just starting to find out about other people. When you’re bigger, up to my age, like on my football team, we have to have respect for each other,” said Clark.
He explained what human rights are, and noted that the United Nations created the UN Charter of Rights for children, which includes the right to protection from violence, the right to education, and that no child should be treated unfairly.
“If we see violence being done to someone at school, we have to tell someone and help out,” said Clark.
Bullying is repeated unwanted aggressive behaviour, he explained, and pointed out that bullying is a learned behaviour that can be unlearned by being positive and respectful.
“As a little boy, I was bullied nearly every day from when I was in Grade 5 up to Grade 8. Bullying was a part of growing up — that’s what they would say. My dad would say just punch them in the face if they’re bullying you, but my mom raised me to be soft and to be kind to people,” said Clark.
Addressing a question to kindergarten students, Clark said if they are dealing with bullying on the playground, what should they do?
In eliciting answers from the youngsters, he pointed out they should tell a teacher about it, or if one isn’t around, to go to a supervisor, or if they feel comfortable enough, to go to an older student to help them out.
He also explained that bullying can be both physical and verbal, but can also be social, as when a student is left out of choosing teams or fun activities. He also explained about cyberbullying on social media.
“Just because we’re hiding behind a screen doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want,” said Clark.
For himself, he noted that when he got in to high school and found that he loved the game of football, he also found his self-confidence, and his grades improved also.
“You know what’s cool about your generation? When you guys want something done, it can be done. You guys have a chance to change your community, and change the province,” said Clark.
