“Maintaining a positive school climate is important. You can’t get to

the business of teaching and learning if students don’t feel sure that

they are safe” according to Aileen Sterling, Principal of Cerro Villa

Middle School.

Such sentiments led her to ask Jennifer Van Horik a counselor at Cerro

Villa to implement a character education program called Values in

Action! Van Horik remembered the program from her days as a student in

the Irvine Unified School District and was motivated by the challenge.

The result was Teen Respect which she launched the following month.

Values in Action! is an intensive k-12 character education program

developed by Gene Bedley, founder and CEO of the National Character

Education Center in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. The program is

based on 7 core ethical virtues: Positive Mental Attitude, Respect,

Integrity. Compassion , Perseverance, Cooperation and Initiative. It

focuses on developing responsible and value driven students. Van Horik

chose “Respect” for the theme for the year and worked with Bedley and

Andrew Cipolla, the Values in Action! Middle School Coordinator, to tailor

the program to Cerro Villa’s needs. She began by choosing the heart of

Teen Respect.

“The hardest task was choosing the students for the program. For a

program like this it is necessary for student “buy in”.

Van Horik began by asking teachers to recommend students that were

looked upon as leaders and who had the respect of their peers. She then

interviewed those students Some of the questions Van Horik asked were:

“How do you show respect?” “How do you gain respect from your peers?” and “Why is respect important

to have in relationships?”

Andrew Cipolla then led a 2 hour, interactive seminar for the students.

They discussed, defined and planned how they would teach and promote

respect among their peers. One of the most important messages the

students received, Van Horik believes, is that no one should have to gain

or earn your respect- you should just give it to them.

The seminar was empowering and challenging to the students. It left them

with a mission declares Van Horik. “I wish the entire school could have

had the seminar”

Van Horik decided to present parts of the seminar to the entire school.

The Teen Respect students began meeting at least twice per week. They

developed a series of presentations with respect as their core theme. Each Teen Respect member would take turns delivering the presentations to every homeroom and reading weekly

reminders during morning announcements. Topics of the presentations included defining values, recognizing what respect is and is not, and respectful listening. (all activities in the

Values in Action! seminar workbooks)

Teen Respect members also surveyed the student body asking what each

person thought was the biggest obstacle toward having respect on campus.

“It’s fabulous when students see something in their own environment that

needs improvement” said Principal Aileen Sterling.

Van Horik and Principal Aileen Sterling were both surprised when

profanity surfaced as the biggest concern. Teen Respect’s biggest

campaign became Clear the Air, Appropriate Language is Spoken Here. The Campaign

included a contest where each homeroom was challenged to create an anti

-profanity slogan. The winner was “Would you kiss your mother with that

mouth?” Another was “Clear the air try not to swear”. The Clear the Air

Campaign also included “10 tips to control your tongue” from the Cuss

Control Academy website at cusscontrol.com. These were posted and

presented to each homeroom. In March, Bedley himself came to Cerro Villa

and presented a seminar for a staff development day for teachers. By

this time Van Horik noted, the teachers had already seen the student’s

interest in the program. She describes the staff as very supportive and

involved. Is the program working? “The kids around me, before they say

something, remember what we taught them and think about what the slogans

state,” said Leila Hammad, an eighth grade Teen Respect member. “They’re

thinking before they actually say something.”

Ten Tips to Tame Your Tongue

1. Recognize that swearing does damage.

2. Start by eliminating casual swearing.

3. Think positively.

4. Practice being patient.

5. Cope, don’t cuss.

6. Stop complaining.

7. Use alternative words.

8. Make your point politely.

9. Think of what you should have said.

10. Work at it.

– Darlene Laguna