PAYINGTRIBUTE - Operation Respect

In November 2007, Peter Yarrow gave a keynote
presentation at the National Association for the
Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Conference.
Educators in attendance articulated great
support and enthusiasm for incorporating the core
principles of DLAM in the education of pre-school
children. Discussions relating to pre-school education
alerted Operation Respect to the increasing
importance of creating a climate for young children
that is safe, respectful and bully-free at the earliest
ages of their development, thereby inculcating
habits and traditions of respect and civility prior to
their entry into elementary school.
To extend our reach to early childhood education,
Operation Respect is eager to do its part in addressing
the challenge of school violence, adding
its efforts to a growing movement to address the
emotional and social development of children with
the same priority that schools address and measure
students’ academic progress. Mark Ginsberg,
Executive Director of the NAEYC, expressed
interest in collaborating with Operation Respect
to develop a pre-school version of DLAM. We will
seek funding for this initiative in 2008.
In January 2007, Operation Respect’s Education
Director, Mark Weiss, and trainer, Lynne Hurdle-
Price, returned to Hong Kong for the fourth year
in a row to offer Don’t Laugh at Me professional
development workshops for hundreds of teachers
from local schools in Hong Kong. Mark and
Lynne also offered a training-of-trainers workshop,
provided follow up sessions for educators who
have been implementing the program, and gave a
presentation to educators, parents and community
members.
The Manpower Bureau of the Hong Kong Government,
the sponsor of these events, produced a
number of materials to support the ongoing implementation
of DLAM, including Chinese translations
of the DLAM elementary and middle school
program and a composite DVD that includes the
DLAM video and Operation Respect outreach
video with Chinese subtitles.
Following a request from the Israeli Ministry of
Education, Culture and Sport for permission to
translate the DLAM curricula into Hebrew and
implement the program in elementary and middle
schools in Israel, a bold vision has emerged.
Peter Yarrow has worked closely with Dr. Charlotte
Frank, Chair of the Operation Respect Board of
Directors, to lay the groundwork for the possible
dissemination and implementation of DLAM in
Israel, the West Bank and possibly Jordan and
Lebanon as well. A leadership group consisting of
key potential partners in the US and Israel, coalesced
by Peter and Charlotte, has been actively
strategizing ways to launch this effort. Doing so
involves the building of support in both the educa-