Oklahoma School for the Deaf Builds Buddy Bench
December 3, 2015
SULPHUR, OK — “I was bullied and I got upset and I hate him and I knew I shouldn’t have but I did, I should have just gone away and cooled down,” Oklahoma School for the Deaf student, Montrell Adams says.
Oklahoma school for the deaf student, Montrell Adams says he wants to teach kids his age and younger that violence is never the answer.
“Don’t hit back, go tell your teacher, tell somebody, tell a friend find some help, and you can development other ways to cope with that,” Adams says.
And so the buddy bench was built, Adams and his 4 friends built the bench so that his former classmates could find a way to cope with everyday struggles.
“Like if someone felt alone, and they wanted to have friends, and it’s to make them feel happy,” 3rd grade student, Michael says.
The bench is set up on the recess school grounds so that students can sit on the bench if they are feeling sad or lonely.
The idea is for another student to recognize that one of his or her classmates is upset and prompt them to talk to them or ask them to play.
“The kids like it, they enjoy it, they know to watch for others, our theme this year is we are one and they have really taken up with that, and want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and has a friend,” Director of the Student Assessment Center, Traci Prince says.
8 year old Sadie says one of her classmates hurt her feelings and so…she sat down on the bench.
“And then they ask you what’s wrong or do you want to play and then you say sure and then you get happy again,” 3rd grade student, Sadie says.
The Oklahoma School for the Deaf’s third grade class says the buddy bench is making the bullies go away.