At times it seems like there really is a day to honor anything – hot dog day, hug day, high five day. Those types of things can be fun reminders to enjoy the mundane, the normal. Then there are week-long honors and events for Drug Awareness, which is now a regular and important part of national education.

Much newer than Drug Awareness Week, No Name-Calling Week began in 2004 as a cooperative between Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. There are now more than 40 national partners supporting the effort to get kids to use kind words and think about how they can positively interact with their peers. There are tools and activities to use in discussing no name-calling available on the official website. All of the resources are available through free download to encourage all schools to get involved.

By giving students opportunities to express themselves with art and dialogue exercises, schools can be a crucial part of intervening in bullying where it happens. To expand the conversation beyond the classroom walls, be sure to view the webinar from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on cyber bullying.

No Name-Calling Week is officially being held this week, January 21-25. However, if you don’t have time in your schedule to implement extra content into this week, it’s certainly worth creating new dates for your school to actively engage students in kindness toward each other.