Everyone has heard the phrase, “stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Words will never hurt you p but words can hurt you emotionally.

It’s common for students to use hateful words. Sometime they use those words to hurt others or maybe just for jokes, but those words carry a lot of weight. Those words can leave lasting impacts on people. English 9 teacher, Mrs. Cottrill, knows that. That is why she decided, along with her freshman students, to destroy the hate “brick by brick.”

Mrs. Cottrill asked her students to write words they think are offensive or names they’ve been called on a rectangular piece of paper. Those papers were then presented in a display case in the shape of a brick wall. Mrs. Cottrill and her students wanted to show how unacceptable these words are and try to persuade students to stop saying those words. On top of those negative words, are bricks with positive words. Those bricks are filled with words students should be saying to one another. Those bricks are filled with words people should want to hear.

The brick wall can be located in the English display case by the cafeteria. It’s important to look at, and try to make the change from negative bricks to positive bricks in your life. To quote Mrs. Cottrill and her students, “it’s time to destroy the hate, brick by brick.”