Our class has been talking about what it means to be an upstander. An upstander is someone who is willing to stand up for someone else.  Sometimes it takes a great deal of courage to cross the line from bystander (someone who watches, but does nothing to stop a mean or bad thing from happening) to upstander.

As part of our discussion, we read The Story of Ruby Bridges. In 1960, as a 6-year-old first grader, Ruby Bridges changed the world by her courage to cross the line and attend a school that was for “white” students only.

Inspired by Ruby Bridge’s story, we have joined a worldwide conversation on what it means to be upstanders, not bystanders. To listen to our stories, go to the second page of the VoiceThread, the one with Ruby’s famous photograph.

Just like our Why It’s Important to Listen to Others VoiceThread, if you would like to add to our VoiceThread conversation, you will need to register for an accoun. You can add a comment by cell phone, or computer microphone, or just type in a message. This VoiceThread was created by two California teachers who are passionate about celebrating the stories of upstanders and positive (digital citizenship). They will be approving all comments before they go “live” to the VoiceThread.

You can also click on the comment link for this post and add a comment.  Just like the VoiceThread, I approve all comments before they go live (another digital citizenship lesson).

Come join the conversation!