OWN CORRESPONDENT
KDHSL says it is one of the first schools to take a stand against lashon hara (derogatory speech about another person) in such a public way.
According to KDHSL Principal Lorraine Srage, the campaign is predicated on the notion that, “if you cannot be kind, be quiet”.
“This will inform the culture of the school,” she said.
Directly translated as an “evil tongue”, lashon hara intends to demean another person and cause them pain. “People speak out of turn as if they have the right to do so, or because it’s their story to tell,” Srage says. She points out that with the advancement of technology, we are able to engage even more easily in irresponsible behaviour. We can spread lashon hara with one text, email, or photo to hundreds of our closest friends.
“People engage in this type of behaviour to feel superior, out of boredom, out of envy, to feel like they are part of a group, for attention, or out of anger at their own unhappiness and pain. However, what gossip or an evil tongue does in a community – and in our case a school – is to make people suspicious of one another and break trust amongst us all.”
Srage says speech wasn’t intended to harm, it was intended to hold communities together, to create trust, and create an environment which is inclusive and supportive.
“We are determined to create a culture in our school in which we encourage people to be themselves, and not do and say what others want them to say or what they think they should say.”
As part of the campaign, the school has secured 900 rubber bracelets from Israel with the words “לשון הרצ לא מדבר אלי! Shaming shames me!” on them. These have been distributed to the entire school (staff and pupils) to wear as a constant reminder to speak kindly to one another. In addition, there are Lashon Tova posters in every classroom.
Finally, pupils from the school have written lashon hara words on paper, which has been remodelled to form a massive heart and placed in a strategic area in the school that demarcates a “lashon hara-free zone”, proving that something beautiful can come from something bad.
