School club helping girls change their attitudes, learn manners

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 27, 2000

Erik Sanzenbach

LAPLACE – Computer teacher Laurie Francois knew there was a problem at LaPlace Elementary last year. “It was chaotic,” said Francois. “There was a lot of fighting and fussing going on.” The problem wasnt with the male students; it was the sixth-grade girls who were fighting. According to Francois, the girls were just full of negative attitude and disrespect for their fellow students. Francois sprang into action and got permission from principal Courtney Millet to form a club called Girls With a Good Attitude. The idea was to teach the troubled girls manners, positive thinking and respect for others. “Instead of ignoring their negative attitudes, we are challenging them to change,” said Francois. Last spring came the first major test for these sixth-graders. They threw a fancy tea party for the school faculty, administrators and the superintendent. Girls who once wouldnt even give someone the time of day were graciously pouring tea and handing out cookies. They told the gathered audience about the importance of respect and having a good attitude. A year later, Girls With A Good Attitude has expanded beyond Francois expectations. “We have so many girls that want to be members of the club now,” said Francois. This year Francois is using computer technology to help her students improve their attitudes. Using special software, Francois assigned her girls to compose their own magazines whose main theme is the biographies of fellow students. “We get each girl to have a partner,” said Francois. “They pick someone they dont have much interest in and then they write a magazine about them. They find out about each other, and this makes them learn respect for each other.” For example, Jennifer St. Germain created the Jessica News, a report on her friend Jessica Dugan. Inside were Jessicas likes, dislikes, career plans and what she wanted out of life. Jessica did the same for Jennifer. “It really made us better friends,” said Dugan. St. Germain agreed, saying, “I learned all about her and what really goes on in her life. It showed me what real friends are.” Francois said, “One thing that these magazines accomplish is that it improves attitudes about themselves and others.” Anjone Breaux, who said she used to have a lot of problems with anger, said that now she has gotten to know Airelle Harris better she respects others. “Ive learned how to control my attitude,” said Breaux. “Even if you have a disagreement, you have to have a positive attitude.” Now Francois has gone one step farther with her attitude training. She realized the younger girls in fifth grade would have to be taught how to have a good attitude and learn respect. So she formed the Mentoring Program of Girls With A Good Attitude. The sixth-grade girls take the fifth-graders under their wings and teach them what they have learned about respect and attitude. The learning hierarchy goes even farther, because the fifth-grade girls write stories about respect and attitude and read them to kindergarten students. Whitney Jackson wrote a story about being afraid of people and said, “It makes me feel good to write a story and know someone will read it.” Francois is pretty happy with the results of her Girls With A Good Attitude Club. “We keep getting good reports from teachers on how the girls have improved,” said a proud Francois. “But we still have a lot of things to work on.” Francois has big plans for her club. Right now she is negotiating with Superintendent Chris Donaldson to open a Girls With A Good