A friendly lesson

Suzie Harrison

In between lessons on math and history, students in Mary Blanton’s

third-grade class at El Morro Elementary School are learning about

friendship.

Blanton said the students have been reading short stories out of

their “Open Court Reading Book” that pertain to friendships, each

giving insight and illustration of who friends really are.

“It’s a six-week unit -- a great way to start the school year,”

Blanton said. To illustrate the camaraderie Blanton and her students

call their class in Room 54, “Club 54.”

“Club 54’s message is how important it is to take care of each

other,” Blanton said. “It fits in nicely and brings the class

together.”

To start up a discussion Blanton asked the students to discuss

some of what they’ve learned from reading the stories about

friendship.

One of the students responded that a dog and a boy were friends

and another added that girls and boys could be friends.

“We’ve learned that we all have a lot to offer each other, that

classmates can be friends,” Blanton said. “We’ve learned that there

can be conflict sometimes, depending on people’s religions, culture,

language and how they dressed.”

One student pointed out that the characters of one story initially

didn’t get along, but then were able to become close friends.

“There’s the kind of friend that would give up their life to help

another,” Blanton said.

Another student said that it was important to be true to your

word.

“Friendship is where a boy or girl are friends and they meet each

other to play and have fun and tell jokes and stuff,” Taylor

Nederlander, 8, said. “They tell their secrets too.”

Taylor said his favorite story was “Teammates” about Jackie

Robinson and Pee Wee Reese.

“They are two famous baseball players who became friends,” Taylor

said. “And Pee Wee Reese stuck up for his friend.”

“Friendship means when someone is your best friend and is honest

with you, he never gives up on you,” Kevin Tovar, 9, said. “Your

friendship can never be broken.”

The students’ friendship education goes beyond stories. They are

working on journals in which they write about friendship; and there

is a concept question board on which students will place questions

they may have about people. With each of the stories they read, the

students will make an illustration and write a summary of what the

story meant to them.

Hannah Novak, 8, gave an overview of what they had been working

on.

“It’s important to learn how to treat each other and not loose

your temper,” Hannah said. “To be a good friend, I try to respect

them, try to listen to what they want to do.”

She said that she feels that being respectful and responsible are

important attributes of friendship.