New School Norm: No Place for Hate

Schools are gun-free and smoking-free by law. What if we also made schools hate-free? What if we fiercely declared schools were no place for hate?

We get to choose the values we want to instill in our youth. Treating each other with love and kindness is a value all of us can agree on. When my students are kind and collaborative, they talk about how good it feels. Creating opportunities for our youth to practice this value is as important as making sure students can spell or solve equations.?

Why is now a vital time to intentionally create this culture of love in schools?

Houston, We Have a Problem. Last week, NPR released an article, “Hate Crimes Reach the Highest Level in More Than a Decade”. The U.S. lists over 15,000 hate crimes last year; these crimes are motivated at least in part by a bias against a victim's race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity. The U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is making preventing and responding to hate crimes a top Justice Department priority.

"These hate crimes and other bias-related incidents instill fear across entire communities," he said. "All people in this country should be able to live without fear of being attacked or harassed because of where they are from, what they look like, whom they love or how they worship."

We know fear can lead to anger, which can lead to hate. What if we take the huge influence schools and peers have on our youth and use it to turn this tide? It would take intentional youth-adult teams making it happen. We would need to create psychologically safe schools and focus on this culture of love. Hard work on a taxed system, but imagine our youth growing up knowing how to build bridges instead of divisions!?

Three Ways to Make Our Schools Hate-Free

As a school leader and someone who has supported and consulted with a number of micro-schools and schools-within-schools, I’ve seen the power of intentional work on love and acceptance within schools. These are just three ways that I’ve seen have incredible impact.

1. Build empathy. It’s fun to see our students lead in morning check-ins. They ask a wonky question and how each kid is feeling. By the time the group has shared, there is a sense of, “I know you” connection to start the day. Teachers continue this experience by stopping when there is a conflict or an uncomfortable topic. Unpacking these and showing that we can take other perspectives into account normalizes differences and shows that we are so much more than a viewpoint or action. This type of simple and regular practice can transform a classroom—or a home.
2. Commit to a love-filled culture—and send activities home to help families keep the conversation going. We can jot quick emails to parents when we “catch kids being good” to remind parents we see the good in their children. We can create opportunities for students to pick passion projects around a part of the world they want to make better. We can celebrate acts of kindness with hearts kids put on the wall denoting when someone was kind to them. Ben’s Bells in Tucson, Arizona (with a beautiful, heartbreaking backstory) has many activities and a free kindness curriculum.?
3. Study and implement anti-bias actions. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a fantastic resource. A recent ADL article shares 11 Ways to Go Back to School with Anti-Bias Education.??

Our micro-school, LEADPrep, is also an official ADL No Place for Hate? (NPFH) School. I strongly urge schools to research and implement this powerful, free, student-led framework. It begins with students signing off on the NPFH pledge in a meaningful manner:

Then there are wonderful lists of anti-bias activities and the students choose and lead two or more over the school year. Resources include a regional support person, book lists, training sessions (our team of teachers completed two training sessions to gear up for classes this fall and have two more coming), and a cohort of NPFH schools. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel to create anti-bias schools of love and belonging. We just have to take intentional steps forward.

Our U.S. political system seems impossibly antagonistic. Sadly, I’m not sure it can be saved. Love and humans are far from the center of their decisions. It may take our raising a new generation of politicians to infiltrate and replace this toxic setting to move our country and world forward. Schools...let’s get started NOW! I thrive on creating human-centered inclusive schools and am at your service to make our schools no place for hate. Let’s talk more about how we can partner together to ensure there’s no place for hate in your schools.