Community Magazine January 2009

14 Community magazine EMOTIONALLY SAFE SCHOOLS Thank you for last month’s article on bullying in schools. I hope every teacher and principal will read this article, absorb the information, and take it to heart. With so much scholastic material to cover, teaching empathy to our children seems to have been nudged out of the curriculum. Our schools have a very real responsibility to keep our kids emotionally safe. Current policies of dealing with issues only after they have escalated to violence are unacceptable. These policies send a message that kids can say whatever they want, and so often it is the target of these attacks that suffers the consequences. These children do not have the cunning or verbal skills to defend themselves from emotional torment, so instead they physically strike out in defense. They are then punished as a result. It is truly a cruel chain of events. Parents and educators should be aware that this is an ongoing and serious problem. Children need to be able to feel safe in school. No one should ever say that victims of bullying need to “toughen up.” Schools should have clear policies outlining the consequences for both physical and emotional/verbal abuse, and bullies should be made to suffer those consequences. Teaching our children kindness and empathy while they are young is a vital and immeasurable investment in our children, and will certainly impact the future generation. A. Ades SERIOUS CYBERBULLYING As usual, Community Magazine has its hand on the pulse of the community. The article on bullying raises a very real and critical issue that community leaders must wake up to. Just before the article came out, a relative of mine, not yet 11 years old, told me about a boy in his class who was photographed on a cell phone camera in a pose that makes it look as if he is picking his nose. Within seconds , the picture was sent to over 100 of his schoolmates (boys and girls) with a caption that assigned him the nickname “...the nose picker.”. The boy continues to be called this name two weeks later and the school administration is doing nothing about it. If this was done to a teacher in the school, I am sure that the reaction would be decisive. The schools need to deal with such matters as seriously as if the boy was physically assaulted, and no less seriously than if a teacher was attacked. Let’s hope your article will wake people up to this. I. Sutton THE AUTOMATED SYNAGOGUE I enjoyed your article on Home Automation in November’s issue and read with interest the letter in December’s issue which encouraged our shuls to get with the times. I would like to point out, that at least one shul in our community already has an electronic display which provides the latest times to pray each day. Sephardic Lebanese Congregation (SLC) has two displays in the front lobby which scroll through various messages and announcements including the latest time for shema , amida , etc. I agree that other shuls, especially those which offer multiple minyanim each day, should follow this example. Raymond S. HAZARDS OF HOGS I’d like to point out another health issue that I believe should be of concern to community members. Many individuals, across the religious and political spectrum, have acquired motorcycles. Motorcycles and scooters seem to be a cheap, convenient solution to volatile gas prices, but even the most cautious motorcycle driver is at great risk of serious injury. What prompted me to write this is a close family friend who was rear-ended by a car. He had bi-lateral bleeding of the brain and is in and out of a medically induced coma. There’s no telling the extent of the brain damage. Hopefully, he will be ok. Before buying that motorcycle, please carefully consider whether the investment and cost effectiveness is really worth compromising your safety. “ Venishmartem meod lenafshotechem ” – we are commanded to guard ourselves carefully. It would be helpful if our community rabbis can address this issue before we see more accidents or fatalities, Gd Forbid, from motorcycle accidents. A. N. Correction: The news brief, “Meat shortage, Rising Prices,” on page 94 of the kislev/december issue mistakenly stated that Rabbi Asher Hatchuel shlita, head of sephardic bet din (sbd) is supervising meat from satmar. This is not the case, SBD is still only providing supervision on meat sourced by Agriprocessors. Only meats with the SBD label are under the supervision of Rabbi Hatchuel. We apologize for any confusion. WE'D LOVE TOHEAR FROMYOU! GOT A STORY ABOUT HOW COMMUNITY MAGAZINE HELPED YOU OR YOUR BUSINESS? PLEASE SHARE IT WITH US. 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