“Mrs. Yoho, you have two officers who want to speak with you.”
Please send them in.
What can I do for you today?
“Well, you have a student we believe is in attendance today, and we need to arrest him.”
What?
“We do not need to involve you; we can go right down to the classroom and pull him out.”
Absolutely not. Please tell me who it is, and we will bring the student to my office. I do not want to do that in front of the other students.
Jan, can you tell me what class Teddy ***is in and have Chad be in the hallway to walk him down to my office, please.
Hi, Teddy. These officers are here in my office and want to talk to you today.
“Teddy, do you recall being at ****. Well, we have a warrant for your arrest, so we will have to handcuff you and take you down to the public safety building.”
“Mrs. Yoho, you said this school was safe, and we would feel good. How can you let this happen?” Teddy said to me with tears forming in his eyes.
Teddy, I did say that, and it is true.
“But how’s come they are doing this to me?” Teddy began to have tears fall down his cheeks.
Teddy, I am so sorry this is happening to you; I cannot control what happens outside of these school walls. I know we talked about choices. The Two Rules apply everywhere you go and not only at school. You have power in your choices, and the solutions follow those choices you make.
Teddy looked at me with a red face, tears still flowing, and my heart felt like it could explode. A big lesson for not only Teddy but for all involved today.
Power in Words
I realized the children were listening to the lessons, my words, and all of the consistent work of the staff. However, the children could not apply it to all areas of their life. We need to begin work on this right away, thanks to Teddy.
We have power in our words, and we need to make sure our message is clear to complete all improvements. The school did improve in several areas, but we needed to work on helping students apply what they learned to all aspects of life. We needed to get our families and community to help us. Power in words, strength in relationships and community, and consistency in our actions will provide what the children need.
Next Steps
- Provide information in newsletters
- Family Council Meetings-Present Two Rule Concepts
- Partners In Education-At meeting discuss Two Rule Concept
- Have students create ideas to share on how to promote Two Rules
- Students write newsletter articles, newspaper articles, appear on radio spots to discuss
The vision is a dream until the action steps make it a reality. Each step taken supports the security of building a solid foundation of safety, security, and feeling good in an environment encouraging growth for all.