James Childs introduced his young audience to the Platinum Rule. “It’s the Golden Rule ratcheted up a notch,” he said. “The Golden Rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated. The Platinum Rule,” he explained, “is to treat people the way they want to be treated.”
Mr. Childs of JaRa Consulting was at the middle school on Jan. 7 and 8 to promote team building. He spoke to sixth-graders in the auditorium and then worked with them in their classrooms.
Cornwall students are split into teams in sixth grade, and remain on those teams until they move up to high school. For the concept to work, individuals have to believe they are contributing to the group.
“If you feel trusted, appreciated and valued,” Mr. Childs said, “you’re going to do better.”
The Platinum Rule can help. But you can’t follow it unless you know something about the people around you. And that’s not easy, because most people are like icebergs. They have more below the surface than above.
In the classroom, Mr. Childs asked students to share things about themselves that couldn’t be directly observed. The revelations were interesting. One student recalled having a barium test, another had family in the Dominican Republican, while a third was descended from Native Americans (although you couldn’t tell by looking at him).
Most of what the students reported was stuff that their classmates didn’t know. What’s noteworthy is the students responded with enthusiasm. They seemed to accept the idea of appreciating people for their differences.
Mr. Childs, a former director of Kingston’s Human Rights Commission, has been in Cornwall before. He addressed faculty members two years ago, and worked with high school freshmen last year.
Middle School Principal Kate Polumbo said that teachers will refer to the presentation in future classes, and Mr. Childs will be back for another visit.