What does Defeat the Label mean?

Frequently students, parents and teachers will ask us, “What does ‘Defeat the Label’ mean?”

We all have labels, some of them we put on ourselves, we may jokingly refer to our behaviors, such as a bookworm or shy. Other labels that we have, indicate who we are, or jobs we have, these labels can include; parent, teacher, son, daughter, student, friend, waitress, etc.

Finally, there are the third type of labels, labels that others put on us that we do not like, or identify with. These labels can include derogatory terms, like ‘loser, weird, geek, nerd, spoiled, odd” in addition to other names.

Defeat the Label refers to the third type of labels. The ones that other people put on you, that you do not identify with. Defeat the Label refers to standing up in your school and your community. Whether you are standing up for yourself or becoming an Upstander and standing up for others, you are Defeating the Label.