With a little help from magic and Katy Perry, elementary students across Dearborn Public Schools are getting some lessons in how to get along.
The ROAR Show is visiting 18 schools in Dearborn during September and October. Al Ulman, also known as Al the Respect Guy, is giving students lessons on how to get along, like making sure to introduce yourself, including classmates in your play, saying you’re sorry if you make a mistake, and respecting the people and property around you.
ROAR stands for Respect Others – Act Responsibly. That message is driven home at times throughout the show when a clip from Katy Perry’s “Roar” song starts blasting and children know to yell out “ROAR!”
Upper elementary students also get anti-bullying lessons and another acronym for how to deal with bullies. WITS stands for walk away, ignore them, tell someone, and stand up for yourself.
Mr. Ulman is a magician from Maui, Hawaii. He travels more than 100,000 miles a year and has visited more than 1,000 schools delivering different educational programs relating to science, the environment and other topics. For more than 13 years now, he has been delivering The ROAR Show focusing on anti-bullying topics. Parents can learn more on his website TheRoarShow.com. Teachers also receive materials that help them reinforce lessons presented in the show.
In 2015, Mr. Ulman visited a few schools in Dearborn with the ROAR Show, but this fall the district brought him back to visit elementary schools across the district.
The ROAR Show is part of a lead up to Care to the Core Day, scheduled for Oct. 12, 2023. Care to the Core is when schools across the district highlight various initiatives to reduce bullying and/or improve school culture. For the last few years, Care to the Core has been held in the spring, but this year the district is moving it to the fall to coincide with National Anti-Bullying Month in October.