Kindness has been a focal point in my teaching and leadership as a principal and it has connected me to some amazing educators across the world who have a similar passion. It brings me great joy in my work. Whether you focus on reinforcing kindness in the day-to-day or designing events around it, one thing I love about kindness is that it doesn’t cost a thing. Kindness is free.
Kindness improves the happiness, well-being, resilience and relationships of everyone around us, including ourselves. When we show kindness, we demonstrate that we care. This increases the trust and connection in our relationships. When students demonstrate kindness to each other, it reduces the confrontations and loneliness that may occur in a school setting. Developing a culture of kindness sets the tone for a school and its community. The feeling is noticeable, and the school develops as a team, caring for each other, the building, and the school environment. It makes school a place that students and staff enjoy, and can feel safe, valued, and connected. All we have to do is let kindness shine, one act at a time. A few ideas are below:
School culture has always been important to me. The first year in any job is to see how things run. It is about relationships, watching traditions, taking feedback, and supporting staff. I didn’t jump head-first into implementing things; I just provided a safe space for students and staff, learning the names of everyone, visiting classrooms at lunchtime, and developing relationships.
The creation of a culture of kindness needs the people in the building to be involved. We had month-start assemblies that focused on positive character traits, then reviewed these traits in class and on the daily announcements. Then we extended these lessons into multi-grade activities, buddy classes, and whole school events.
One school goal we had was that every student in the building felt they had one adult that cared about them. This meant all staff connected with as many students outside of their class as possible. Positive connection and relationships are critical in a school. Students need to feel like they belong. It reduces confrontations, builds trust, connection, and a welcoming school climate.
School service provides students the opportunity to show responsibility and take pride and ownership over their school – to live kindness. This was an integral way of enhancing the culture of our school. Every term, students in grades 2-7 could apply for a variety of school service jobs, and we made sure that there was an opportunity for every student who applied. One year we had over 120 students who applied for a school job and had to create 50 more school services than had been listed!
It is very rewarding to see students take responsibility and give back to their school community. Some of the school service jobs I offered were: assembly crew, compost managers, announcement readers, flag monitors, card artists, kindergarten helpers, birthday managers, recycling team, fruit & veggie crew, lost & found managers and snow shovelers. Students are very excited about serving the school and take the role very seriously.
Recognition tickets are a great way to reinforce kindness. I have used “Caught You Being Kind” tickets or “Compliment Cards”, that allow classmates and adults in the school to write down positive behavior they see happening, write a compliment, or thank others for their kindness. However, I also reminded students that we don’t show kindness simply for the sake of being recognized. Many acts of kindness can be done without being seen and those are even more fun!
Just prior to World Kindness Day, I created a Kindness Tree in the front entrance of the school to maintain a sense of community during Covid-19 health and safety regulations. Students and staff were encouraged to color and write kind quotes, phrases, or words on a handprint and place them on the tree which became a focal point for the community. Students would stop to look at the handprints, point out their own, and acknowledge other handprints that they liked which enabled us to continue to promote a culture of kindness.
Stories about kindness encourage children to reflect on their actions and inspire meaningful discussions about how actions and words impact others. Some of my favorite picture books to showcase kindness are “One” by Kathryn Otoshi, “The Three Questions” by Jon Muth, and my book, “What Kind of World Would It Be?”.
Heart Attack is an activity students always get a kick out of. As a principal, I would go into a classroom at a prearranged time, send the teacher on their way, and have students create kind messages on heart-shaped colored paper for the person receiving the “heart attack”. We would tape them all over the door, desk, or other designated spot; or in one case, stick them onto their teacher when he walked in!
Recently I had a class do a ‘Heart Attack’ on the principal and vice-principal while they were out of their office. They said it was just the thing they needed on a particularly hard day. The students were so happy to take action and make a positive impact on the principals at our school. It created confidence, pride, and one student even said, “This was the best day ever!” Kindness removes barriers and reminds us we are all human.
With so many competing priorities today, educators need strategies that they can easily weave into the day-to-day – as being kind to others starts with being kind to ourselves. So next time you are planning your lesson, your day or a school-wide event, consider what you can do to sprinkle in a little kindness.
Angelina Gauthier is an elementary resource (SPED) teacher, former principal, teacher wellness coach, and children’s book author. You can follow her on Instagram at @kindnessandstories and find more kindness initiatives, free resources and information about her books at www.kindnessandstories.com.