School kids end social isolation one hello at a time
We wish every day could be as swell as Thursday was at D’Iberville Middle School.
The kids there learned a valuable lesson — during lunch hour.
Instead of heading off to tell booger jokes with their pals, they sat with kids they barely knew. And after a few awkward moments, magic happened.
“It’s taken a while for some of them, but a lot of kids will end up talking to a wall if they had to,” Assistant Principal Jody Grimes told the Sun Herald’s Justin Vicory. “(The lunchroom lesson is) for them to find something in common with one another. To learn there are more similarities than differences.”
D’Iberville Middle School and more than 2,000 schools across the nation took part in No One Eats Alone Day, which aims to thwart an insidious form of bullying — social isolation.
“We have talked to over 10,000 students in dozens of schools and after-school programs, and we have found the problem of social isolation to be universal,” Beyond Differences, the driving force behind No One Eats Alone, wrote on its website beyonddifferences.org. “We also acknowledge the relationship between social isolation and bullying and violence. By reducing social isolation, we believe we can help end much bullying and violence.”
Middle school is a particularly tough time for kids, who seem to confront changes and challenges around every corner. Imagine having to face those challenges alone, without a friend to confide in. And lunchtime is the roughest time for a child to be alone, when it seems everyone else is socializing.
If only one lonely child came away with a new friend, the day was a smashing success in our view. We suspect there were many friendships forged.
The students through the week heard a lot about isolation and the importance of including everyone — and they learned a valuable skill: How to start a conversation.
Beyond Differences provided the materials for the event. Magnolia Health gave students anti-bullying booklets.
No One Eats Alone should spread throughout society.
The editorial represents the views of the Sun Herald editorial board. Opinions of columnists and cartoonists are their own.
This story was originally published February 12, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "School kids end social isolation one hello at a time."