Guest speaker tells teens it's all about r-e-s-p-e-c-t
BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer

HOWELL - Few punk rockers are honored by the New Jersey state Senate.

But this one was.

Through a message of respect, teachers, administrators and students across the state remain grateful and validate the honor.

Dave Street, a do-it-all personality with a can-do attitude, has spent his life wearing many different hats. A former punk rocker, band manager, teacher, writer, comedian, actor and most recently a motivational speaker, Street was honored by the Senate for his work.

Street came to Howell Memorial Middle School on Oct. 25 to engage an audience of eighth-graders with his message of respect.

"You can be the first generation that really has it all," he told the students. "You can live in the most amazing world there has ever been.

"When I say amazing, I mean amazing," he said, mentioning vacations to the moon and holographic video game systems. However, he cautioned the students that "you will lose it all if you don't get along."

To appreciate the future to its full extent, Street encouraged the students to break the mold of their parents' generation.

He told the students, "if you can do two things that my generation couldn't do - get along with each other and control your emotion," they would be able to accomplish great things. "Emotions are the only thing that prevent us from living in that world."

Street said those great things stem from respect.

"I think most fights in this world are because one person disrespected another, and so many people get angry and upset so fast" that just escalates conflict, he said.

The former entertainer frequently asks students what makes them angry and the responses are always similar - being made fun of, being ridiculed, or being called a name.

Street said even good people can get angry, but the key is to control it. He acknowledged that can be difficult and said he fell victim to anger years ago.

"When I became a punk rocker I changed my name," he told the eighth-graders. "Why? There would be days I'd go into the lunch room [at school] and kids would shout out mean and disgusting things about my name," which made him detest going to school.

He said his anger almost got him into a lot of trouble - even jail.

"I built up a lot of anger," he said. "Then, eight years ago, I got angry and decided to change the world."

Street devised four rules to live by, which he said will give respect to others and create a better world for everyone. When angry, his first rule is to "zipper" your mouth before you speak.

"Don't silence yourself, you have the right to be heard, but think about what you are going to say," he said.

Second, he puts his hands together gently, so as not to break anything in a fit of rage.

Third, he told the youngsters to practice breathing exercises.

The fourth and most important step is to force yourself to do something good for someone else.

"I'd like to live in a world where angry people do good things," he said.

Street related the rules to his own life when he lost a gig at a school.

In fact, he said he was unceremoniously fired.

Instead of lashing out at the individual who informed him of his release, Street said he channeled his anger, performed his four steps and reaped the benefits.

His good deed meant writing a letter to a school district he had just visited which had a poor reputation. Since he had a good experience, he wrote a letter to a newspaper saying how much he enjoyed his time in the embattled district.

In turn, the school district administrators said they appreciated the kinds words and introduced Street to other educators and to governmental entities from the state.

That praise eventually landed him in front of the state Senate as an honored guest for his educational programs.

And that's how a punk rocker was honored by the state Senate - by getting fired, writing a letter and remembering to control his emotions.