Stand By Me: Imagine a world where everyone is treated with respect.
Cleveland 'Stand By Me' Testimonials
Both parents and
educators want young people to succeed in their academic, personal, and social
lives. We want young people to have the motivation and ability to achieve, to
establish positive relationships with their peers and adults, to adapt to the
complex demands of growth and development, to contribute to their peer group,
family, school, and community, and to make responsible decisions that enhance
their health and avoid risky behaviors. To help young people accomplish these
tasks successfully, schools are increasingly challenged to offer more than
basic instruction in the traditional academic areas. In response to this need,
the PAC staff at Cleveland Elementary School responded by inviting the Stand By
Me program coordinator and facilitator, Teresa Triggiano, to come and
facilitate workshops to the students at Cleveland Elementary School. I am one teacher who was
fortunate enough to have Teresa come to my grade seven classroom. Her lesson on
the differentiation between bullying and conflict was a great benefit to the
program. I was very pleased with the format of the class meeting, class
discussions, and role-playing. Teresa quickly created a safe and warm
environment for the class meeting.
The entire morning provided a developmentally appropriated social and
emotional learning experience for all the students. The skills that were taught were those essential to Social
Emotional Learning theories.
Primarily the students were taught skills about Social Expressiveness. I
observed students further developing their self-awareness and emotional
expressiveness skills, especially the recognition and sending of affective
messages to their peers and staff members. Teresa facilitated a meeting the
encouraged a self-awareness component of learning, that included a way of
communicating that was advantageous to moment to moment interaction, and to
relationships over time.
Throughout the workshop, Teresa facilitated several important skills:
Ms Denise La Prairie Grade 7 Teacher After having Teresa Triggiano come in and do the Stand By Me workshop with my students, the atmosphere of the class was forever changed. We accomplished so much important work in one short morning! We now deal with interpersonal conflict differently and everyone is on the same level of understanding. Teresa has a gift of speaking with passion and purpose, and she captured my students' attention right away. Not only that, but she had my grade 5 and 6 students seriously contemplating and being willing to change their own actions. My students were able to open up about hurtful behaviours they have experienced and also at times done to others. They were given the opportunity to apologize to each other, and accept each other's apologies for past wrongdoings. Teresa created an open and therapeutic atmosphere in which even my most reserved students were able to share their deepest feelings with the class. This program created a new sense of trust and community in our classroom. Teresa connected on such a deep level with my students and gave them the platform to discuss some very important issues together as a class. This is an invaluable workshop that all classes should utilize, not only for the three precious hours with Teresa, but for the wonderful follow-up lessons that she provides.
Mme Claire Gordon Grade 5/6 French Immersion Teacher |
Program Information Sheets:  |
