Marcia Hayward: Parents should be modeling good behavior for students at all times

To The Daily Sun,

Rep. Richard Littlefield’s letter of July 27, stated that the only way schools are going to change for the better is hold administrators accountable for the bullying, violence, cyber bullying, etc. that is occurring. He continued by stating school administrators need to demand a standard of peer-to-peer decency, manners and etiquette so that students can succeed. I will not disagree with his expectation that administrators need to hold students accountable for their behavior. However, what he neglected to address was adult behavior.

Many adults are extremely poor role models when it comes bullying, manners, and etiquette. One only has to attend or watch the recordings of Laconia School Board meetings to witness bullying, intimidation, and the lack of complete manners by some parents. At one meeting in which I was in attendance, I witnessed a young boy imitate the disrespectful tone used earlier by an adult. It was heartbreaking to watch.

I would also like to remind Rep. Littlefield of his own poor behavior at a Laconia School Board meeting. He thrust his cell phone in the face of one of the board members as they left the building in hopes of provoking a response that he could post on social media.

Disrespect isn’t restricted to the school board. The Laconia Zoning Board had a recent demonstration of verbal abuse directed at its members.

To Rep. Littlefield and members of the Laconia community, good behavior starts at home.

Marcia Hayward

Laconia