A single action can change someone’s day — or even their life. At BHS, students are learning how powerful it can be to stand up, speak out, and spread positivity. GreenDot’s mission is about turning small moments into big impacts for the whole community.
GreenDot brings you a day where the BHS community wears green to represent the power a voice can be to those being bullied or taken advantage of. Wear green on Tuesday, May 1, to commemorate the community’s motto– ‘No one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something’.
Kevin Art, a BHS guidance counselor and leader of the GreenDot program, explains what GreenDot Day is and how students can participate in the celebration.
“Students are encouraged to wear green in support of GreenDot’s mission, and we are handing out green donuts at the start of the school day as well to spread positivity,” Hart said.
Hart speaks on how school clubs can help foster this healthy environment and culture within the community and among the students.
“Incorporating GreenDot into clubs would be a really powerful way to help change the school’s culture, if we could get different clubs, activities, sports, athletics, etc, involved. If you see something happening that’s making somebody else uncomfortable, there are certain ways that we can respond,” Hart said.
Moreover, Hart explains how GreenDot is currently teaching students to stand up and support one another.
We also do GreenDot bystander training. We teach students how to respond in situations where a classmate or person is being mistreated. Our senior PE leaders present at the freshmen spark classes on how to respond in these situations. We would also like to branch out more and work with club leaders, club sponsors, coaches, athletes, and try to get that word out to clubs and athletics as well,” Hart said.
In addition, one of the lessons taught to freshmen and those in the GreenDot community is the 3-Ds, which outline how to engage with a bullying scenario.
“The first D would be to direct. You can directly intervene and say, ‘Hey guys, what’s going on here?’, you know? You’re inserting yourself into the situation. The second D is distract. If you’re not comfortable putting yourself in a situation where you’re directly interacting, the distraction could just be, ‘hey, you got a phone call, ’ or ‘you accidentally spilled a drink. ’ Something to get their attention away from what’s happening there. The third would be to delegate. So that would mean you just let an adult know, and then let the adult handle it. It could be discrete, anonymous, that kind of stuff, just so we know, to direct our attention where it needs to be,” said Hart.
GreenDot Day creates a positive culture, allowing students to be the solution to bullying. With key leaders like Kevin Hart, the program calls the entire school community to become upstanders by knowing and acting on the 3 Ds: Direct, Distract, and Delegate. By going green and raising awareness, students and staff make their school a kinder and more inclusive place.