Teachers play an important role in students’ lives by helping them become successful learners and productive citizens. If “It takes a village to raise a child” as the ancient African proverb says, then teachers play a vital role in raising our children. In today’s culture, some students will not have a parent/mentor who exposes them to healthy relationships, demonstrates appropriate boundaries, or provides guidance about positive social behaviors. In order to reach the goal of helping students to develop into productive citizens, teachers impart much more to their students than just reading, writing, and arithmetic. The classroom becomes a primary place for students to learn basic concepts and, more importantly, to develop and practice skills for respectful communication and healthy relationships.

Many of the behaviors that students display within relationships result from messages in their lives. Incorporate healthy relationship messages into your classrooms about what it means to be a woman or man today, how to respect yourself and others, how media influences us and how everyday actions really can make a difference. Each page within the Teacher section of this site contains information, teaching tools and helpful resources.