Cube-inspired creations

Not only is the Cube of Love a successful, positive response
to bullying issues — kids act and sing about it, too.

When it comes to bullying or the victimization of children worldwide, Canada ranks 25th and 26th out of 35 countries, according to a World Health Organization poll. The U.S. is similarly ranked at 24th and 26th. Apparently other countries have been preventing these problems more effectively.

Maria Luca, a recently retired Toronto teacher at St. Jerome’s Roman Catholic elementary in North York, invited me to observe an innovative anti-bullying program, the Cube of Love, in action.

“Come and see the Cube of Love annual school presentation where the students will sing and perform skits on how they live the cube of love phrases,” she said. “Then you’ll get it.”

Welcomed by smiling students and directed to Luca’s classroom by teachers, I climbed three flights of stairs as young students ran up and down. The atmosphere was peaceful.

I saw it right away — a big box with many colored cubes just behind other giant Cubes of Love. Each has a Gospel-related phrase written on each side, and the children roll it daily and try to put the phrase into practice. I was obviously in the “Cube of Love room.”

The cube is the brainchild of Focolare founder Chiara Lubich. Wanting to pass her Gospel-based spirituality on to children, she used the cube concept to share a timeless message — “love everyone,” “love your enemy,” “love Jesus in the other,” “be the first to love,” “share the other’s hurt or joy,” “love one another.” She was convinced that many societal problems simply arise from a lack of love.

The cube is now used in close to 180 countries — 47 schools and parishes in Canada, 10 in Australia and 193 schools in the U.S., with 1,050 teacher’s guides sold.

We moved into the gym for the presentation. As the gym filled up, 10-year-old Dakota, one of the actors, told me why he was a cube fan.

“Before I was a bully ‘cause I thought it was cool. Then I saw the words on the cube one day and thought about them. I knew I wouldn’t like people to bully me. ‘Why do I do it?’ I asked myself, so then I stopped. Now I help in my family, too.”

Dominic, 13, is already a cube veteran: “I’ve lived it for 5 years. It’s really a lifestyle, and it promotes peace. If you live it, your life should be peaceful.”

Roy and Kibra sang and strummed their own cube-inspired creation, “Just a Little More Love.” Then, in the first skit, Dakota acted out his good news story with Nicole who played his grandmother. He wanted to play Nintendo, but grandma asked him to take out the garbage. He did and then got back into his game, only to get called again to take the laundry basket down. After he jumped up, ran and got the laundry basket, everybody clapped.
Props were moved around quickly, and skit two was Domenic, Michael and Dakota in a wrestling match on the floor to bring home the point of how things get out of control and somebody always gets hurt. They threw the Cube of Love which reminded them to stop.

The third skit was a typical school scene where the bully pushes everybody around. Lucas decides that it takes courage to walk away from a bully and does just that. Everyone clapped in agreement. The presentation ended with the entire school singing their favorite song, “Love Is a Beautiful Thing.”
Maria Luca, a mother of four, became aware of bullying at St. Jerome’s and initially wondered how to get the message of peace out.

“It might be hard to believe, but even at five, my young students were already fighting, pushing and shoving each other,” she said. “I once told them that we had to love our enemy. I thought they might not understand who the enemy could be, but a little girl immediately said, ‘I know who my enemy is — it’s that girl who didn’t want to share with me.’ I realized that children could have enemies at any age, and so it is important to start when they are small. I heard about the cube of love program and thought it could be the answer. I made the first model for my class and another two for my colleagues.”

Luca saw it catching on and noticed a real change in the students’ behavior. The parents were delighted that the school “was not only looking after the academic needs of their children but also the spiritual ones, building their character.” Their children started helping at home.

“I’ve noticed such a big change in my daughter at home,” a mother told Luca. “She offers to vacuum or pick up her toys.” And another mother, “They start to fight then throw the cube and stop.”

Obviously the cube doesn’t stay within the school walls.

“We roll it each morning and talk about the point that comes up,” explained Angela Di Prospero, one of Luca’s colleagues. “The students look for ways to live it and how other students live it. It just takes a few minutes to reflect, then one good thing leads to another. The program sets a peaceful atmosphere that continues to dominate our classroom.”

“The teachers need to be committed to living it, too,” added Luca, “because if they don’t believe it works, it won’t. But it also works the other way. Once a teacher shared something with her students about how upset she was with her mother. It was they who reminded her to love.”

“I really like the cube and I’ve been living it since I came to St. Jerome’s,” said Terese, 13. “It means being nice to people and loving God because he wants us to love one another. I had a problem making friends because my family moved a lot and I’ve been in nine different schools. When I came here and learned how to love the others, I stopped thinking about myself. I will act as a peace ambassador when I go to other schools.”

Any skeptics in the crowd? Gaetano De Sandi, a teacher for 20 years, was one initially. He grew up with the philosophy of “winning at any cost” and he adopted this method in sports. But he began reflecting on how young children are negatively influenced by video games promoting greed rather than cooperation, compassion and sharing.

A short time later he saw skilled players in school deliberately letting a less-skilled player score a goal. “That was definitely premeditated cooperation,” he said. “Through things like the cube we give students a game where they can be different and not have the pressures of the world on their shoulders. In this way they can nurture a more positive way of being.”

“There are wonderful anti-bullying programs, but when they end, students go to recess and forget,” said Principal Judy Onody. “I think the Cube of Love project is rooted in our faith — it comes from the Gospel and touches everyday lives. Repetition is the key.”

“I think it’s an amazing project,” added Sherry Ann Ambrose, the new vice principal. “It seems small, but it contains a very powerful message and teaches students social justice. If they start to love one another at a young age, they will be the good leaders of tomorrow.”

Roll the cube here.

“This is the best example of character development that I’ve ever experienced. Your school is like an oasis in the city … I believe the children formed in this school will make a difference in their homes, workplaces, neighborhoods.”
-Dr. Avis Glaze, the former education commissioner of Ontario, Canada,
after a cube of love presentation at St. Jerome’s school in Toronto