Saratoga News Photograph by George Sakkestad Green Circle volunteer Dorothy Dorsay uses bird characters to teach Argonaut fourth-graders about differences. Green Circle teaches children about respect and acceptance By Michelle Alaimo Each Tuesday of this month, students at Argonaut School are learning from Green Circle program volunteers how to appreciate and respect fellow students. Parent Robin Sabes recommended the program to the school's Community Building Committee, a program started last year with the goal of teaching students from different cultures how to get to know each other. "I thought Green Circle would be a great program to bring to Argonaut for children to learn about differences and acceptance of other people's cultures," Sabes said. The committee, which is part of the school's PTA, decided to fund the series of four classes after Green Circle program coordinator Dorothy Dorsay gave a presentation. Dorsay said the program strives to teach children to treat others with caring and respect. Volunteers use felt figures and lead classroom discussions geared at helping children understand how they feel when they are included or excluded from a group. Classes for all grade levels began Oct. 6 and will run each Tuesday though Oct. 27, Principal Sue Brooks said. A green felt circle is used in the demonstrations and stands for a circle of caring, Dorsay said. Each Tuesday, the class discussion is geared toward a different topic. The first week, students learned about feelings. The second class focused on the ways people get left out based on various factors, including skin color and weight. Dorsay said children are asked if they were ever excluded and are encouraged to talk about how they felt. "It's real important that they listen to one another and learn from each other," Dorsay said. The third class focused on nonviolent problem-solving and the last class is scheduled to be activities that are used to reinforce what the children learned. Brooks said the program, which was at the school 15 years ago, has been well-received by students. Sabes said her children are really excited about what they are learning and seem to understand the discussion. At the same time that students are learning, seven volunteers with City Year, a San Jose-based community corps, are observing the class and later will be trained one-on-one later by Dorsay as future Green Circle facilitators. "Green Circle is really trying to help children to be ready for life in our pluralistic society," Dorsay said. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, October 21, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.