Louisville Medicine Volume 70, Issue 6 | Page 16

CALLED TO SERVE

Think Before You Act : Preventing Violence Among Louisville Youth

by KATHRYN VANCE
* faces concealed for privacy

Dr . Timir Banerjee remembers well the 1997 shooting at Heath High School in Paducah , Kentucky . He was teaching in England at the time , but the tragedy hit hard as he had called Louisville home for many years . He knew he couldn ’ t sit by in the aftermath and promptly took action . In 1999 , after getting local leaders and school system and government officials on his side , the Society for the Prevention of Aggressiveness and Violence among Adolescents ( SPAVA ) was formed .

“ I thought I could help in teaching children how to be nice and to solve conflict in a non-violent way ,” he said .
The 10-week program for elementary and middle school children meets for about an hour a week and is currently being taught in Jefferson County Public Schools as well as Catholic and private schools throughout the city . The curriculum is geared toward furthering social and emotional intelligence , anger management and anti-bullying techniques and behaviors .
Reading and vocabulary are a big part of Dr . Banerjee ’ s teaching in this program . With each session , he ’ d read to the students and teach them one or two new words , explaining that a good vocabulary can get you out of some tricky situations .
“ Instead of calling someone a bad name , you can pick a different word . Instead of calling someone a liar , you can say that they have a fracture in their credibility ,” he said . “ You learn to say words that will probably not mean anything to the other person but will mean the same thing to you without being incendiary . I want them to learn to say what they feel without it being offensive . We have to learn the taming of the tongue .”
They focus on four main principles : respect , honor , integrity and the value of hard work . Another major focus is taking responsibility for your actions .
“ At my classes , I always say that we believe in respect , honor and integrity . Also , we honor America , and we live by the rules ; if we do not like the rules , we ’ ll try to change them in a manner that is accepted and in a civilized way just like Martin Luther King Jr . and Mahatma Gandhi .”
The actions and the teachings of these two leaders are central to the program ’ s goals , inspiring an essay contest at the end of each program to result in student awards . In the past , students received awards to help fund post-secondary education in college or trade school . Post-COVID-19 , SPAVA is working on a new program in which the awards will be donated to a local charity or non-profit of the student ’ s choice in order to instill a spirit of generosity and “ pay-it forward ” attitude . Dr . Banerjee said the purpose is to counteract malicious spending in the world .
“ If people are going to buy bad things with money , I ’ m going to
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