Lessons in kindness:
How two teachers found WE Schools and inspired the next generation of compassionate change-makers
It all started over a friendly conversation during a weekly faculty hockey game.
The scene was familiar, teachers and principals from across the Cariboo regional school district in British Columbia chit-chatting while unlacing their skates in the locker room. Eventually, banter turned to shop talk, with Mike Wilson leading the discussion.
A teacher at the Columneetza Campus at Lake City Secondary, Mike always had something impressive to report. That week, it was about the latest WE Schools campaign that his students were heading and the impact their action would have on the community.
For Kevin McLennan—a new teacher—listening to Mike’s story was a revelation.
“My ears perked right up,” he recalls. Having just started his own leadership group at Mile 108 Elementary School, Kevin was extra attentive while listening to Mike speak about how the WE Schools program had empowered his students to create change. “I heard what Mike was doing, and I thought, ‘that sounds perfect.’”
Not long after, Mike became Kevin’s WE mentor. They talked for hours about social activism, shared ideas to stir up student involvement and dreamt up joint projects. As Kevin recalls, “I was hooked. I loved the mindset.”
The passion that the WE movement can spark is nothing new for Mike. In fact, he turned to WE during a period in his school’s history when both students and faculty needed a positive boost.
After the last teachers’ strike in British Columbia, the mood in his school was dark. Introducing WE Schools to Lake City Secondary infused the halls with inspiration and gave everyone an added sense of purpose. “We’ve definitely raised the morale in the school,” asserts Mike.
Beginning with 10 students in the newly minted WE Schools club, there are now more than 50 members. And like their numbers, their impacts have grown exponentially, too. Each month marks a new WE Schools campaign, with students tackling issues including mental health, reconciliation, hunger and the environment.
Mike isn’t surprised by the club, and its campaigns’, popularity; the way he sees it, the appeal is inherent. “It’s so easy to buy into. People have this innate desire to help others, and kids jump at the chance.”
Kevin put Mike’s hypothesis to the test recently, when he organized a WE DayX event to bring together Lake City Secondary with his school, Mile 108 Elementary School. Just as Mike had inspired Kevin to join the WE movement, the educator hoped listening to changemakers from Mike’s WE club share their stories of impact would motivate Mile 108 students to get involved.
After an hour-long bus ride, Mike and 26 WE club members arrived at the elementary school and the WE DayX event began. The Lake City Secondary students shared their stories. Some spoke about leading green initiatives to protect the environment, others shared their thoughts on participating in Orange Shirt Day to raise awareness about Indigenous issues and advance reconciliation. Then there were those who gave tips on organizing effective WE Schools campaigns, like WE are silent and WE scare hunger. A few students even opened up and told personal stories about overcoming bullying and dealing with mental health issues.
“The main thing we wanted everyone to take away from the day is there’s no act of kindness too small,” says Mike. “Building bridges is really important for our community and for our country. Building bridges even between our two towns is something we can work on together.”
Kevin is a WE rookie, Mike is a seasoned WE veteran. Like teachers across the country, both are getting students involved in WE’s Canada 150 program to build a more caring and compassionate country and world. Eager to glean some of Mike’s expert knowledge on the WE Schools program, Kevin posed a few questions to Mike about what it means to bring WE into the classroom and how to make it work.
K: What’s the most important lesson your students have picked up from being a part of the WE club?
M: Many students have told me that they really see all of the needs around them now—[needs] they didn’t notice before. They see the student [who is] bullied, they see the student who walks the halls alone and they see hunger and poverty in the community around them. But they don’t just see the need, they see the opportunities to help fix these problems and change lives in the process. This is also the biggest lesson I have learned personally.
K: We have our training wheels on right now as a WE group; what do you recommend for us to take it to the next level?
M: Just take it one challenge at a time, one campaign at a time. We’ve always tried to focus on one challenge and do it to the best of our abilities before moving on to the next one. But dream big! Our biggest successes have come when we have taken the biggest risks. I had no idea if anyone would even join me when we held our first trickor-treating food drive. We went from nine to 16 to nearly 30 students taking part this past year! If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.
K: Now the big question: What are your goals for next year?
M: I want our club to be so big that we need to find a bigger room in the school to fit everyone in! We’re already sitting on the floor of my classroom!