You belong campaign promotes positive message

Regarding the criticism of the You belong. You matter campaign in Nazareth. Mother Teresa said “Today, if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other — that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister.”

Shall we tear down “Welcome to Historic Nazareth” park signs since nobody said people aren’t welcome? A group proclaiming free speech putting pressure on the speech of others? A recent poll of 1,000 K-12 parents found that in addition to academics parents want schools to teach children how to develop positive relationships (95% of parents), identify solutions to personal problems (93%), understand how emotions influence behavior (93%) interact with people different than themselves (94%) evaluate consequences of their actions (94%) resolve conflict (94%) develop healthy lifestyles (93%) empathize (92%) understand their civic responsibilities (90%) and to support health and wellness (90%). Almost all parents wanted social and emotional skills taught.

My teaching career was spent teaching math, reading and other subjects but also building teamwork, developing leadership and teaching how to appropriately deal with emotions and social interactions.

Tim Kearney

Upper Saucon Township

The writer is a retired Allentown School District elementary school teacher.