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"Principal
passes wisdom to pupils"
Each morning at 8:45, principal Alan McNulty's voice echoes over
the intercom at Brinley Middle School, while children sit quietly
in the classrooms listening. "Good morning, Brinley Middle School
students. This is Mr. McNulty with a few words of wisdom," he says.
Brinley is among 2,000 or so schools throughout the nation that
have implemented Project Wisdom. The Houston-based program was founded
by Leslie Luton Matula in 1992 after recognizing a need for positive
messages following the Los Angeles riots.
Matula compiled hundreds of quotes and aphorisms from the likes
of Confucius, Sophocles and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to more
modern-day public figures like Oprah Winfrey. Each quote is followed
by a brief description of what it means to follow that particular
golden rule, centered on themes such as overcoming obstacles, staying
in school and thinking big.
But ultimately, the decision to act rests in each pupil's hands,
as each message suggests at the end: "Make it a great day ... or
not. The choice is yours."
McNulty said the program crosses a broad spectrum of everybody's
values and is very philosophical.
"This whole week since we celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday,
we chose the theme of nonviolence," McNulty said.
The children had a chance to ponder over Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
words: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
"It only takes about 30 seconds or maybe a minute to read," McNulty
said, "but what I've found is certainly the teachers appreciate
it because the message is so positive, so uplifting and so character
building, and they appreciate my doing it."
The program is new to Brinley. McNulty began using the announcements
on Jan. 4 after meeting with the school's finance committee, who
all agreed it would be well worth the $300 investment funded by
the school library.
McNulty said it won't be long before he steps aside to let pupils
have their shot on the microphone.
"For example, after doing this now for a couple of weeks, I think
the kids may be getting tired of hearing me," he said. "What I'm
going to do is have a student begin to rehearse to do this, from
the student council."
Mike Nostro, Brinley counselor and student council advisor, believes
the messages will have a big impact on the children, especially
when they are given by their peers. Nostro said student council
members already say the Pledge of Allegiance over the intercom each
morning on a rotating basis.
"They kind of enjoy hearing their friends on there," he said. "From
what I see on a day-to-day basis, not enough positive messages are
sent in the home, and if it sets the tone for the day for these
kids, it's a great idea."
But when it comes down to it, McNulty said: "Whomever delivers the
message, that's not as important as who gets the message."
Reprinted with permission
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