Michael Melasky, a retired school administrator and co-manager of the Temple Beth Shalom cemetery in Florida, met with all Middle School eighth-grade social studies classes on Oct. 3 to share a teachable moment about antisemitic symbols, leading to a frank conversation about hate speech and strategies students can use to confront those who use hateful language.
His presentation, “Hate is Not Welcome Here,” was part of the Middle School’s ongoing commitment to character education programming which includes constant reminders and reinforcement that there’s zero tolerance for the use of hateful speech, symbols or actions anywhere at the Middle School and the district.
Once they understood what “hate is,” they would be in a better position to combat it, Mr. Melasky told them.
His talk also connected to Holocaust, World War II, Civil War and post-Civil War content — including the hateful symbols of those eras — that students will be learning about this school year.
Mr. Melasky shared the 2016 story that on the eve of Yom Kippur, vandals spray-painted antisemitic graffiti including swastikas and SS insignias on the brick walls surrounding the cemetery property.
Mr. Melasky told them about the emotional accounts of his friends, his personal reflections, pictures, symbols, definitions, and history for context. As part of that, he spoke about the immediate and long-term aftermath to the greater Warwick Valley community, including the media attention it garnered. He told them he’s speaking about this in an effort to get others to better understand the negative consequences of hate speech and use of hateful symbols.
But as part of that, Mr. Melasky also stressed something good came from what happened.
As part of his discussion, he told students that people and religious leaders of different faiths as well as elected officials came together to demonstrate their solidarity with the synagogue in a healing service, noting good conversations came out of something so unacceptable.
He encouraged students to be advocates for positive change and be responsible for their own speech by using the “4Cs” of dealing with hate speech:’ Care,’ ‘courage,’ ‘confront’ and ‘counteract.’”
Principal Michael Larsen reminded students that it’s important to learn about positive character traits and be a responsible citizen in all they do. Hateful words and actions harm others and their impact is long-lasting, he added, reminding them there’s negative consequences for anyone who violates the district’s Code of Conduct if they use hateful speech and share hateful symbols.
“To have someone from our community remind us about this is an important lesson that we must pay attention to in all we do,” he added.