East Meadow seventh-grade students at Woodland Middle School participated in a special Character Education/Human Diversity workshop featuring educational consultant and retired Suffolk County police officer Paul D. Failla. Mr. Failla’s workshop is based on his philosophy that creating a positive social climate in homes and schools can have a huge life impact.
During a span of three periods, the seventh-graders listened to Mr. Failla’s humorous and dramatic soliloquys, which emphasized his message that societal prejudice and its harmful consequences are unacceptable. Topics such as role models, respect, diversity, values, dignity, leadership, profiling, racism, ridicule and destructive decisions were also discussed. “All bullying is caused by ignorance and lack of self-esteem,” Mr. Failla told the students. “The scars from the words never truly heal.”
After the assembly, the students took additional time to reflect on the information covered in the assembly. Each student was then instructed to write a letter detailing what he or she most gained from Mr. Failla’s message.
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