A 360°-View on Respect

Mendham Township, NEW JERSEY (October 27, 2021) – Discussing the concept of respect is typically part of the school curriculum every year. Explaining, discussing, modeling, setting goals, and sharing experiences are familiar approaches to encouraging young students to become respectful community members. The Mendham Township Home and School Association (HSA) wanted to take this one step further and set about hosting a school assembly that would create an impactful and lasting message about respect. During the school district’s “Week of Respect” the HSA invited motivational speaker, Scott Chesney, to speak directly with each grade at the Elementary School and Middle School in Mendham Township. The HSA also hosted a dedicated Zoom call between Mr. Chesney and students’ parents to further reinforce what was discussed with students and to encourage parents and students to dialogue about what was covered at school regarding the topic of respect.

As a teenager, Mr. Chesney suffered a rare stroke in his spinal cord that left him paralyzed. Thirty-five years later, he has traveled the world, spoken with over 1.5 million adults and children in 40+ countries, and continues to deliver his message to inspire each individual to “Dream, Believe, and Work to Achieve.” While visiting the schools in Mendham Township, Mr. Chesney carefully crafted his message to reach the comprehension level for each grade and gain their attention. He quickly put each audience at ease and focused on his key message: the power to choose. He had many references to when he was a student at school and remembered what it was like to be a certain age. He could articulate how a student may feel uncertain about how they should behave, e.g., when someone new comes to join your class, or how they may experience sadness if they see another student who is not able to run or cannot join in a particular activity. He remembered the growing influence of peers and friends as he advanced in grades and stressed the importance of being able to choose to be the friend you want to be. Most of all, he encourages reaching out and talking. Finding words, asking questions, “showing up for life,” self-esteem, are all part of Mr. Chesney’s talk, regardless of the age of his audience. Additional themes include tolerance and acceptance, and anti-bullying messages. “Never judge a book by its cover,” is an idiom often quoted during his talks. He reminds his audiences that “Everyone has a story -- move past the cover and see what’s inside.”

The school assemblies for the week of respect, October 4-8, 2021, may have been a little different. The discussion was more conversational than instructive. Some of the take-aways were subtle, yet thought-provoking. The topic was pertinent to everyone, but still, each person may identify with the topic in their own way. Children and adults were not only invited to think about respect and what it can mean in their lives, they were encouraged to talk to each other about what respect means in school, in the family, and in the broader community. Parents were able to talk directly with the speaker who had met earlier with their children during the assemblies, which created a shared experience for discussing the topic of respect with their children. "We believe that showing respect in school encourages kindness and caring, which in turn instills self-worth and self-esteem in every student. We also want to show our young students that respect also means that you value a person for the contributions they bring to the community," said Ms. Hillary Clark, Mendham Township Elementary School - School Counselor. "The assemblies hosted by Mr. Scott Chesney provided a wonderful and unique opportunity for young people to truly appreciate the meaning of respect." Over at the Mendham Township Middle School, the assemblies were equally impactful. "Mr. Chesney's presentation made a monumental impact on our middle school students. Middle school can be a tough age group to appeal to, but Mr. Chesney’s engaging presentation had each student captivated by every word he said”, added Ms. Allie Perrotta, Mendham Township Middle School - School Counselor. “He is a true inspiration to all of us, with many of our students now living their lives knowing they have the power to choose. Over one hundred students took it upon themselves to write a thank you letter to Mr. Chesney about how moved they were. I truly feel like this is a moment our students will never forget. We are very grateful to Mr. Chesney!"