Educational Coordinator Ari Fulton from Lafayette Gardens is so proud that her students took home the gold at this year's Davis Cup. The team not only demonstrated stellar athletic ability on the court, but showed true sportsmanship toward all players.
In her August 6 off-court discussion, Ari continued the conversation on cognitive awarenesswith an introduction to grit and resilience. The discussion focused on emotions—specifically anger. Three adult volunteers acted out different reactions to missing a return swing in a tennis match. One person acted violently, one yelled, and one passive-aggressively refused to continue the game.
Though the kids easily recognized that the skit was meant to encourage them to control their anger, Ari and her students were still able to enjoy a meaningful conversation.
Once the laughter over the volunteers' bad acting subsided, one student, Jayden, shot his hand eagerly into the air. In that very moment, he connected the skit to an incident in his own life. Jayden explained that he and another boy, Damian, had gotten into an argument about missing a shot during Davis Cup.
Together, the class talked about the argument, and the boys problem-solved ways to communicate more effectively. The objective of the lesson was not to never be angry, but to think about ways we can use our words instead of actions to express our anger.