A World of Difference Club Training at Woodhull

Huntington High School’s A World of Difference club members and faculty advisors traveled to Woodhull Intermediate School to present training workshops for fifth graders in the building.

Better known by the acronym AWOD, the organization’s student members participate in projects that promote unity among Huntington’s various ethnic and racial groups.

The club pursues anti-bias and diversity programs that allow students to better understand the issues of prejudice and bigotry as well as providing a forum for exploring diverse viewpoints.

AWOD high school peer trainers worked with the Woodhull fifth graders, presenting a variety of positive and enlightening learning opportunities. “Our mission is to promote an inclusive environment for our young people that respect’s everyone’s differences, building a healthy sense of community,” said teacher Suzi Biagi, who along with faculty colleagues Dr. Erica Murphy-Jessen and Marlo Romero serves as the club’s advisor.

AWOD has held training sessions at Woodhull for many years. This year’s club mission is to “embrace our unicorn.”

The training program explored the concepts of bias, standing up to bullies, being an “upstander” in a safe way instead of a bystander when someone is being harassed and exploring our own “uniqueness” in a very diverse Huntington UFSD. Even the topics of mean words and rudeness were discussed.

Club members led a series of training exercises with the fifth graders, brainstorming, socially interacting and developing resolutions focused on an anti-bias and anti-bullying message.

There was a “ROPES” exercise where members were asked to examine the ties that bind and the nets that keep them safe by choosing words that begin with each letter of the word ROPES. Graffiti boards were used to address the topics of combating peer pressure, how to say “no” with confidence and setting boundaries for yourself and what it looks like to not only respect yourself but others as well.

The high school club members were well-prepared for the training sessions. The Cross the Line exercise saw students react to prompts that allowed them to reflect on their own personal stories and move across an imaginary line if the statement they heard was true for them and relatable to a current or past experience.

“This was an enlightening  experience for the fifth graders due to the fact that they never expected their peers to be going through similar experiences as them,” Ms. Biagi said. “Many of them mentioned ‘a lot of us have more in common than we thought.’ Along with that statement, many fifth graders began to understand the reasoning behind emphasizing the importance of empathy as well as respectful behavior towards one’s peers.”

The fifth graders also showcased their creative talents by role-playing positive and negative behaviors related to this year’s theme. The session covered impermissible and inappropriate actions that shouldn’t be posted to social media platforms as well as peer pressure, self-respect and respect for others.

Woodhull Principal Stephanie Campbell said the fifth graders enjoyed working with their high school counterparts. The youngsters looked up to the teenagers, which increased the impact the AWOD club members had during the workshop.

“I personally think the training was impactful and successful due to the amount of comprehension and empathy shown by our young audience and by how much the begged us to return soon,” senior Lindsay Depeine said.

Send a message to Ms. Biagi (sbiagi@hufsd.edu), Dr. Murphy-Jessen (ejessen@hufsd.edu) or Mr. Romero (mromero@hufsd.edu) for more information about AWOD.