"Do I have to wear pink on pink day?"
This question came up today when we were discussing the calendar and the activities for the month of October. "Do I have to wear pink on pink day?" The first answer is "no." But I wonder? Why does a student not want to partake in an activity slated for the entire middle school to do? I spoke with the student and it simply comes down to not wanting to wear pink. That's fair. But I'm asking for 100% participation from my class and I'm hoping for 100% participation from the middle school community when we wear pink on Thursday, October 24.
With that in mind I started thinking about why this day came to be and simply it's because one of our own is fighting a breast cancer battle, former middle school director, Lisa Galarza. Every day she struggles with the effects of chemo--neuropathy, hair loss, nausea, exhaustion, and joint pain. She is a warrior in this battle and it is my desire to show her that we are with her.
The pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness came about because of two previous ribbon stories. One is the yellow ribbons that were tied to trees in 1979 and again during the Gulf War to show support to our soldiers who were fighting. The second is when red ribbons showed up in support of those affected by aids. Pink is the color used by the Susan G. Komen foundation, and the pink ribbon became synonymous with those who were fighting breast cancer.
During the conversation in class students shared that they might wear pink socks, a pink bandana, or a pink ribbon. Some have hats and one student shared that she has her whole outfit planned including pink hair chalk she's using to add pink to her hair. I LOVE her enthusiasm! I'm hopeful that we all show our support by wearing pink in some way.
With that in mind I started thinking about why this day came to be and simply it's because one of our own is fighting a breast cancer battle, former middle school director, Lisa Galarza. Every day she struggles with the effects of chemo--neuropathy, hair loss, nausea, exhaustion, and joint pain. She is a warrior in this battle and it is my desire to show her that we are with her.
The pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness came about because of two previous ribbon stories. One is the yellow ribbons that were tied to trees in 1979 and again during the Gulf War to show support to our soldiers who were fighting. The second is when red ribbons showed up in support of those affected by aids. Pink is the color used by the Susan G. Komen foundation, and the pink ribbon became synonymous with those who were fighting breast cancer.
During the conversation in class students shared that they might wear pink socks, a pink bandana, or a pink ribbon. Some have hats and one student shared that she has her whole outfit planned including pink hair chalk she's using to add pink to her hair. I LOVE her enthusiasm! I'm hopeful that we all show our support by wearing pink in some way.
