A Word from the Principal - Teaching Children to Protect Themselves

"Come with me, my little friend. A little gift for you. Who are you? I don't know you, I can't take your things." Whenever this good habit children's song is recited, the children express the content of the song in terms of volume, as if to tell the teacher, "I know what to do.

One time when I was reciting this song, a parent brought her child to the school and was shocked by the sound of the children's voices, wondering what was going on. Upon questioning, he nodded his head frequently and gave a thumbs up!

Strangers, and there are many strangers in our lives, and whether they are friendly or evil is impossible to recognize even under a microscope, so children can only be taught how to guard and protect themselves.

In addition to familiarizing yourself with the words, it is important to remember them. Let the children practice in groups. The older class will be strangers: "Come with me, little friend, I'll give you a small gift"; the younger class will be children: "Who are you? I don't know you, so I can't take your things. Switch roles again. After that, we will practice in pairs, and finally in groups of two, so that children can build up the ability of self-protection that can be taken away.

Campus safety has once again become a focus of attention due to the recent major incidents. Campus is a very important gathering place for students, and parents will not feel at ease if the safety of the campus is a concern. Over the years, many cities in Taiwan have embraced the trend of wall-less campuses in consideration of the beauty of the landscape and in the hope that it will bring them closer to the community and create a friendly environment and relationship. However, the relationship will not be improved by removing or lowering the school walls, it must be managed and planned with care to be effective, otherwise it will only increase the safety and teachers' worries.

A few years ago, I was also attracted by the issue of no fence wall and suggested the founder to remove the fence walls on both sides of the front entrance and lower the height to a permeable design. However, the founder had a different view, saying pragmatically that safety is more important than beauty, and that he should not focus only on beauty. He repeatedly reminded that it is the school's responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for children to play in. That's right! Safety is the most important thing. Without it, all the beauty and fun in the world is just empty talk.

Many concepts and abilities must be built up from a young age. If we only stay at the stage of protection, with the accumulation of time, we will become old and children will grow up, and then we will feel that we are not able to do what we want to do. Parents, teachers and teachers cannot be with children every minute, every second, every hour, every moment. Learning can be an important part of a child's growth.

It is every parent's hope that children can grow up safe, healthy and happy. In the past few days, I received a British Top Ten Children's Manifesto, which is simple and practical: 1. peace is more important than success 2. where the undershirt and shorts cover, no one is allowed to touch it 3. life first, property second 4. little secret to tell mom 5. don't drink strangers' drinks, don't eat strangers' candies 6. don't talk to strangers 7. when in danger, you can break the glass, destroy the furniture 8. in case of danger, you can run away 9. don't keep secrets from bad people 10. bad people can cheat. Don't keep secrets from bad people10.

We hope that our babies will grow up healthy and happy in a safe home, school and community environment.

I wish you all a happy vacation, peace and happiness.

Mandy