Teach Kindness

Daily, teachers are preparing lesson plans and developing worksheets. Generally, the focus is on subject information but with the turbulent times, youth are feeling an increase of stress in daily life activities. Most didn’t attend fulltime, in-person classes last year so the idea of leaving the comfort of home and entering a larger, unknown environment can be intimidating. Parents, educators, and adults who support the emotional wellness of our kids will find benefits in the investment of time — investment in youth.

Now is the time to take steps to promote kindness and build respect so schools can be accepting, tolerant, supportive places where students can meet their potential. Think about how you can help. School staff will appreciate helping hands to decorate hallway walls, classroom bulletin boards, and create positive messages of support.

Operation Respect is one resource to access. It has been around for years and was founded by Peter Yarrow of the classic musical group Peter, Paul and Mary. With other professionals, lesson plan materials, research, books, videos, etc. have been developed and made available to establish an inclusive learning environment. I have used these resources for the last 20 years with students and adults. After showing the above video to audiences of all ages, the responses have been sobering and compassionate dialogues have followed. Materials can be accessed for free at the Operation Respect webpage.

Think about what you can do to support kindness in your community

This past week I entered a Starbucks and was greeted with a bulletin board of positive messages. Customers were provided 2X2 post-it notes to write encouraging words. I stood sipping my drink and reading for several minutes and felt happier in the process.

• Create a tree on a wall and have apples depict what others are thankful for. Or begin the year with a bare tree and add an apple with a child’s name and state a positive behavior to share random acts of kindness. This is a powerful message to share and a beautiful way to greet students, staff and visitors in a building.
• Share The Giving Tree.

After reading the story, discuss how the tree “gave” and define friendship.

Other strategies to share kindness

• Generate ways students can give to others.
• Write letters to the tree or the boy that express empathy.
• Have a kindness scavenger hunt. Students should record events of kindness as they observe them during the school day.
• Create a KINDNESS ZONE at the entrance of the school or classroom.
• Gather a collection of kindness stories and bind them in a book for the front office.
• Create a Kindness Bulletin Board in the classroom. With the class brainstorm ideas of kind things students can do for others. Write the ideas on the board and when a student does one, they write their name on the board.
• Provide a place for students to report acts of kindness. Then each day announce the action to the class, OR put a sign on the students locker with two hands that explains the act of kindness, OR present the student with a certificate.
• Make origami PEACE CRANES
• Write letters to veterans.
• Create a puzzle mosaic with each piece representing a different student’s strength.
• Get paper bags from local grocery stores. Decorate them to promote kindness and then return them to the store to be used by patrons.
• Get plastic sacks from grocery store. Tape or staple inspiration quotes on them and then return them to the stores to be used by patrons.
• Collect teddy bears to be donated to youth assistance groups.
• Develop a school theme/mascot to represent Random Acts of Kindness (RAK).
• Send thank you letters to police stations, hospitals, fire stations, nursing homes, etc.
• Create posters with inspirational quotes.
• Host a food/book/clothing drive
• Create “PASS IT On” Cards/Buttons that students exchange when they witness acts of kindness.
• Classroom lesson activities that promote kindness
• Assign a current event assignment to be an event in the news that demonstrates kindness.
• Research how kindness is displayed and interpreted in other countries/cultures. This can be a valuable activity to align with the Olympics.
• Produce a skit about bullying for the next assembly or elementary students.
• Journal write about random acts of kindness.
• Have students write a slip each week of the month about something they did nice for someone else and then hand them back later in the year.
• Create a “Grave Yard” in your classroom of negative words to bury. This is a great way to teach antonyms.
• Read for perspective and understanding of the human experience. Include multicultural literature.
• Discuss cyber-bullying, computer and/or texting etiquette.
• Discuss conflict management strategies as they relate to something being studied in the curriculum. (i.e. current events, life skills, literature, etc.)
• Discuss the importance Of Bloom’s Taxonomy to successful learning.

What have you done today that demonstrates compassion?

Seek first to understand

Before we can show true empathy, we must understand the person beside us. Read the thoughts of teenagers in my new book, Lockers Speak. Now available on Amazon.