Middle schoolers learn about social barriers that prevent friendships

Students were treated to music and the opportunity to make new friends at Anderson Middle School.

The festivities were apart of Mix It Up Lunch Day, a national campaign to help student's break down walls and social barriers, and create a better campus environment. Students in the 8th grade Language Arts class taught by Lorri Jarrett, created signs and posters for the day. They also surveyed students to find out more about campus culture.

"The kids taking the surveys was an eye opener. They didn't realize how people see the popular kids and that kids don't have people to eat with at lunch," said Jarrett.

According to Jarrett, students were involved with publicizing the event by creating posters and announcements. The students conducted campus wide surveys, compiled the results, and posted them in the gym for their fellow students to see.

Students were given the opportunity to collaborate with kitchen, janitorial staff, administration, and site council in preparation for the event. Many students were excited about Mix It Up Day and gave different reason for wanting to participate in the event.

"I thought it would be good for the school to go through the process of meeting new people," said Callie Rose, an 8th grader apart of the Language Arts class.

"The students came away with many lessons. The main one being that they can break down social barriers and become more comfortable interacting with different kinds of people - students they may have not interacted with before," said Jarrett.

"I thought people felt left out, and it would be a great way for them to become a part of a group," said Cody Brown, an 8th grader who participated in the event.

According to the Tolerance website, 2,892 schools participated in the Nov. 10 national Mix It up Day, including Anderson Middle School. The students would like to continue to have Mix It Up day once a week or once a month to keep maintain awareness about social issues and stigmas, said Jarrett.

For more information about Mix It Up Day go to http://www.tolerance.org/mixitup/lunchday.