Alexander Irion
Carl Sandburg Middle School
Levittown, Pennsylvania
Bucks County Courier Times: "Where Character is 'Cool'"

Alexander Irion is a 13-year-old student at Carl Sandburg Middle School in Levittown, PA. He participated in the MindOH! Foundation's 2002 Character's Cool Contest, and won an Experience Music Project prize pack.

The Character's Cool Contest was a national contest for middle school students to help stop school violence and encourage the practice of ethical behavior. Participants completed an online survey about their experiences in the aftermath of Sept 11th, bullying and school violence and the ethical behavior and character qualities needed to reduce school violence.

When asked about the first emotion he felt upon learning about the September 11th attacks, Alexander said he felt "anger towards whoever the hell did it." His parents and school both talked to him about the events of September 11th. He wrote that certain students at his school are being treated differently now because of the attacks. "They are being seen as a different ethnic background and not who they actually are," he said. "They are being treated as outsiders instead of friends, and enemies instead of comrads."

According to Alexander, Carl Sandburg Middle School takes measures to prevent bullying and violence. He said, "A lot of times they will try to break up the problem, but sometimes the police have to show up and they break it up. To prevent violence, the police come immediately."

He thinks it is important for young people to learn how to manage their anger and resolve conflicts peacefully, and that it is important to be respectful of others, even when you disagree. The qualities he thinks people need to reduce violence are: Honesty, Respect, Responsibility, Kindness, Courage, Cooperation, Tolerance, Love, Patience and Self Control.

Alexander feels that his school teaches these qualities. He wrote, "We have many mediators and I myself am one of them, so I get a lot of problems brought to me and I show them ways to create a win/win situation. I talk to them and help bring the disputants to a resolved situation."

He thinks about practicing these character qualities in this way. "One word that you can not use to describe me is a hypocrite. I do what I say, so I try my hardest to follow my own oath to treat others the way I want to be treated."

From the student perspective, Alexander believes that it is important for students of Carl Sandburg Middle School to learn what it means to be a person of character for many reasons. He said, "One of the reasons is that it opens the doorway to take from what you have done in the past and turn over a new leaf. Another reason is that it can provide students with the knowledge to pass on to other students. I believe that if the students of my campus learn good education, we can reduce violence in our school. To clearly understand this, we have to first understand what good character education is. I believe that good character education is the ability to reason and live with means of caring, responsibility, respect, and honesty."

He continued, "When you can clearly understand these terms, I believe that one can look at what they have done prior to this breaking point and then weigh their new knowledge carefully and take it into consideration. This could drastically reduce school violence by showing my peers what has been done wrong and how they can change their life by turning over the new leaf.

"While our peers are learning how to reduce school violence and what good character is, many students can then pass on their information that they know and possess. If this is the case, we can then start a chain and soon have not everyone, but a lot of people, understanding character education and living a good moral life. With the aid of our many resources and character education, we can soon reduce school violence down close to nothing and soon possibly end school violence."

The Character's Cool Contest is not the first contest Alexander has won. In elementary school, he participated in a science fair with a project on germs and how to prevent them. He received a "Best in Show" award.

With a wide variety of hobby interests, Alexander says one of his favorites is Shotokan Karate. He enjoys the violin and percussion, singing, dancing, and performing in musicals. He also has fun skateboarding.

Two adults he admires and looks up to are his mom and dad. "I look up to them because they show me right from wrong," he said. "They help guide me through life and help me make the right decisions."

Carl Sandburg Middle School is run in a pretty organized manner, according to Alexander. He wrote, "I like most of the teachers. My favorite teacher is Mrs. Gordon. My favorite subjects are math and English."

If he could travel anywhere in the world, Alexander would go to Japan because he studies Japanese and karate, and enjoys different cultures. When he grows up, he wants to be a teacher because "teaching is my strong point and I love helping others."

Funny, organized, smart, powerful, and serious, Alexander would say this to students if he could talk to them about stopping school violence. "Watch how you are treating others. Small problems lead to big problems, then they are hard to forget. I believe you have to live life to its fullest. Wasting your time fighting isn't worth the effort. You don't have to change your life, just improve on what you've got!" Alexander said he is honored that he was a contest winner. "It makes me feel good that my work has been appreciated," he said. Well done, Alexander.