Tabor has long been a place where you learn about much more than just the information you get in a classroom.
Tabor teaches you how to relate with adults and skills like time management and responsibility. Recently, however, social issues have also risen to the forefront of community conversation.
Brooke Wakeman, joining this movement of using her voice for change, has implemented a week focused on healthy relationships. With the help of her advisor, Lauren Millette, she hosted a series of talks in the Black Box Theatre. Six teachers shared their stories of their past healthy and unhealthy relationships.
The goal of the series was for students to be able to recognize the signs of an unhealthy relationship. The stories were all incredibly open and honest, each sharing unique experiences with relationships that ranged from abusive to obsessive, each one providing a different lens through which to view personal relationships.
The talks all emphasized the importance of a support system, having close family, friends, and teachers to rely on outside of romantic relationships. They also emphasized the importance of self-acceptance and self-love as a pillar for a strong relationship – if you don’t trust and love yourself, a healthy relationship is impossible.
Wakeman was inspired to initiate this week based on her personal experience in an unhealthy relationship during her freshman year.
“I definitely learned a lot from it,” said Wakeman. She hopes that students who attended the series learned that, she continued, “They deserve love, respect, and support” from their relationships, and that if they are “unhappy” or feel that their relationship is in any way “unhealthy,” there are many resources to turn to.
Millette, who helped organize the program, believes that “using your voice” to enact change is vital and loves that the week has served to unite teachers and students and connect them in a common cause.
Allowing for more transparency between students and teachers, the talks gave students the chance to learn from them in a new and more personal way. Each speaker reached out as part of their speech, inviting students to talk to them if they had any questions or wanted advice on relationships.
The group of speakers provided diverse reflections on relationships, as women, men, gay, and straight teachers all shared stories.
Students called the program “eye-opening,” having the chance to hear teachers share experiences related to their own as teenagers. There was also the realization that one’s happiness lies in their own hands. This reaction was echoed by many who attended, as all gained new perspectives from the teachers’ honesty.
Wakeman and Millette hope that Healthy Relationship Week continues to grow and develop in years to come, making healthy relationships a priority at Tabor.
By Madeleine Gregory