Hamburg
School Pupils Pen, Draw Messages of Tolerance on Wall
HAMBURG - All you would see if you looked at the stucco wall before
were some fish. Now, the wall at the Hamburg School swims with pupils'
words of wisdom.
Called the "Wall of Wisdom," a section of a wall that
frames a fish tank was covered with ceramic tiles containing handmade
messages of tolerance and kindness. The messages are lessons the
students learned from Project Wisdom, a character-education program.
Each morning, Principal Jeanette Ericsson reads from the program
over the school's loudspeaker.
"I start at 8:25 a.m., and everyone in the school stops what
they are doing to listen," said Ericsson, who has been using
the program for three years. "There's even a crossing guard
who says she doesn't leave until she's heard the words of wisdom."
Founded in 1992 by Leslie Luton Matula, the Texas-based program
includes inspirational messages intended to "build character
by helping students take responsibility for their choices and actions."
Ericsson ends each message the same way: "Make it a great day
or not. The choice is yours."
She got the idea to tile the wall from a story she read about La
Quinta Middle School in Palm Springs, Calif. The West Coast school
tiled a 20-foot wall with 1,500 lessons they learned from Project
Wisdom.
While Hamburg School's version of the wall is much smaller, displaying
360 tiles from students and faculty and staff members, its lessons
displayed in permanent marker are just as poignant:
"Money doesn't buy happiness."
"Helping others makes you richer."
"Be a Care Bear."
"To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in others."
Over the course of several months, first-through eighth-grade pupils
depicted lessons they learned by drawing pictures on ceramic tiles
donated by Chris Santaiti of Dow Tile. Jared Carcish of All-way
Contracting, the son of Ericsson's secretary, Barbara Carcish, volunteered
his time on Saturday to tile around the school's fish tank, Ericsson
said.
On Wednesday, the pupils were still excited to walk by the wall
and search for their tiles. Fifth-grader Brendan Meyer said he enjoys
hearing Ericsson's daily messages.
"I think it's, like, amazing how it has an effect on everyone
and how they pay attention and learn how they can help out in the
community," said Meyer, whose tile says "Only we can save
our world."
Ericsson said the program has been effective.
"We have fewer discipline referrals because everyone stops
in the morning to listen how to be better people," she said.
Reprinted with
permission
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