Last month, one of our young men approached me after lunch. This is a student who I've known for years. In the past, I've been impressed by his kindness and respectful attitude. However, now at high school, I've seen him working hard to fit in with a certain crowd of boys that are not totally like him. These students are more likely to throw attitudes when asked to mask up in the lunch lines, more likely to laugh loudly at inappropriate comments and are all trying on the "bad boy" image to see if it fits. This student is no different. He is working on his ability to do these things with ease as well.
It's just not the boy I remember.
These are the types of decisions that our students make in high school. We can blame peer pressure, but that is not usually the whole story. There are pressures from many places - home, culture, crushes and broken hearts. The ability to withstand the pressure takes a great deal of grit, clarity of purpose, and frontal lobe maturation...all of which are not fully formed in adolescents. These are the things that worry me, for my own high school age child and the ones I am surrounded by daily.
Last week, however, he went out of his way to find me.
He didn't have his friends around him.
He left his attitude and feigned anger behind as well.
He politely greeted me, then launched into his concern.
"I saw some students bullying one of our students. There was a group of students around him and when he was walking to our building from lunch, he was crying. I tried to find out what happened, but couldn't understand him. Can you check on him?"
He gave me the student's name, and we took action. The bullied student was found and help was provided.
And the good Samaritan went to class like nothing happened.
It was a small thing, reporting some bullying, trying to help a fellow student, taking time to find an adult he knows.
Yet, it was a big thing too. He let his sometimes-masked-but-still-good heart, his core values, and his care for others shine through as he went out of his way to seek help for someone else. A simple act of kindness was a saving grace for another.
A simple act of kindness showed that underneath the tough guy appearance, he still has a heart of gold.
This week, and really the whole month, we are practicing kindness and gratitude. We are modeling what kindness looks like and encouraging students to lean in to the blessings they experience every day.
This month, we focus on appreciation. We recognize the good we see in others and celebrate those who let the kindness seep through...even if it is buried deep most days!
This week, consider how you can encourage the celebration of kindness in your classroom during November.
Have a fabulous day!
Your kindness makes a difference every day!
Kim
Mother Teresa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and life long humanitarian, said that " whomever we meet today, we must leave them better off than when we first met them". I kind word, an understanding ear, a smile, showing appreciation for their challenges are all seemingly small, but consequential changes to the recipients life. If we accept the hypothesis that man is essentially good, but yet we see someone who has lost their way, the conclusion could be that they got "gutted" along the journey .
As responsible citizens of Planet Earth we all have, at least a moral and ethical obligation to ALL fellow citizens to assist each other and share an attitude of gratitude!
This well written…