McBride starts new language awareness campaign
September 30, 2018
After the issues over school safety last year, Neuqua has made a number of changes — one of which is Dr. Bob McBride’s emphasis on respectful language in the school. During the first announcements for this school year, McBride talked about the importance of language in how students interact with each other.
McBride explained the difference between safety and security, saying that safety includes the emotional wellbeing of the students at the school. He was prompted to push for this consideration in the school by the recent events in local politics as well as by student conflicts involving discrimination and the use of slurs. He wants to prevent language that makes people feel “unsafe or unwelcome.” While actually policy has not changed, McBride hopes staff will be able to handle negative situations in a way that teaches students to be kind.
But this push actually started before school — with the Senior Advisory on Aug. 15.
According to Kaiser Minhas, one of the senior advisory teachers, Dr. McBride spoke to the seniors about their responsibility as role models for the freshman and the impact their language could have on them.
Minhas notes that senior advisory is important because students need to hear from other students that have been where they are. He believes the senior advisors can have a positive impact on freshmen with issues like language and respect because they can talk to them as fellow teens and students.
McBride points out that students in leadership roles, such as senior advisory, should hold themselves to higher standards. He also stated that it was important for adults to pay attention to how they speak to students and other staff.
He continued this message at curriculum night on Sept. 6, telling parents that they should “act like their student is sitting there,” when they speak to staff. He admitted that both the parents and school have had interactions that are not appropriate and said that it is his job to deal with such situations and try to foster a polite environment.
Principal’s Advisory Council will be playing a large role in continuing to bring this message to the student body. At the close of the interview, McBride explained that language “is one way [people] practice safety.”