Letter to the Editor: Nonviolent communication needed

By The Rev. Kathryn S. Campbell, Charles City

I  was present at the Feb. 17 special open meeting of the Board of Education about high school renovation including an auditorium. Numerous community members spoke powerfully and the board meeting of March 24 acted on what members heard.

The final presentation on Feb. 17 exposed a critical problem in our schools. A young woman told how she and her family had come to Charles City to escape the big city violence which had killed one of her sons. Her 12-year-old son was bullied in our schools and one of the officials told him, “I don’t trust you.” She has transferred her son to a more welcoming school district.

Bullying is said to be a major reason our students move to other school districts, so this family’s story points to a really hard problem. Why? It can’t be disciplined away, but requires a massive change of culture. It requires a collective change of heart.

Nonviolent Communication, developed by Marshall Rosenberg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7TONauJGfc) is a tool we can begin with.

Everyone involved in the February special meeting demonstrated their skill in using it. But the violence of our students shows that more needs to be done.