Connected Through Our Differences

By Larissa Lytwyn

Folk artist and former music therapist Cyd Slotoroff visited Reed Intermediate School fifth graders recently, discussing schools’ at times turbulent social culture through song and dialogue.

Her presentation, “Creating Community: Appreciating Differences,” addressed issues including bullying and the desire to be popular.

After singing “Howard Grey,” in which the narrator expresses guilt over joining others in humiliating a peer, Ms Slotoroff engaged students in discussing why bullying exists.

Students in Karen King’s class agreed that there was a lot of social pressure to fit in and, according to one student, “be like all the others.”

Ms Slotoroff introduced several scenarios involving a variety of potentially stressful social situations. “How would you react if you saw someone defending another student who was being teased?” she asked. “Would you respect them more or less?”

Students voted confidentially, with eyes closed.

“No peeking!” Ms Slotoroff said several times, laughing lightly. “This is completely private. No judgment.”

The majority of the students, she said, would respect the student who spoke out in support of the unpopular peer.

Subsequent polls on whether or not a student would defend a peer indicated that many students felt intimidated by the prospect of defending a peer on their own.

“It would take a lot of guts!” declared one student. Others murmured in agreement. It was concluded that if multiple students supported a less-favored classmate together, however, there would truly be “strength in numbers.”

“Maybe someone can tell their friends to stop teasing a particular person,” one student suggested.

The class also discussed why some students regularly tease others.

For many, students speculated, the power simply felt good. Bullies were also more likely to come from troubled homes, taking their unhappiness out on peers.

Ms Slotoroff emphasized that to change the “status quo” of the generally hierarchal grade school social structure, a classwide attitude change was required.

Ms Slotoroff is a member of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. She said she draws much of her musical material from collaborations with other commission artists. “It’s really part of a big network,” she said. She is also a member of the Connecticut branch of the antidefamation league and Young Audiences of Connecticut, one of 34 state chapters of the nationwide network, Young Audiences, Inc.

Young Audiences, Inc is one of the nation’s largest arts education service providers and is the first arts organization to receive the National Medal of Arts. According to its mission statement, the organization is “committed to making the arts a vital part of every child’s experience” through bringing the area’s finest performers into a variety of institutions, from schools and libraries to correctional facilities.

For more information on Young Audiences of Connecticut, contact Eileen Carpinella, acting executive director, at 203-230-8101.