The Culture of Kindness

Liwayway D. Lugtu

Whether kindness is innate or not, being purposeful about teaching definitely contributes to a positive learning culture. When you focus on kindness, you send the message of its value in the mind of young learners. Modeling and encouraging kind behavior and reflecting on its presence in class can create an environment of care.

Prioritizing kindness helps children see the impact of the words they use and actions they take on the dynamics of the classroom.

Furthermore, children who learn to treat others with respect and generosity in their classroom community can carry these values outside the classroom and throughout their lives. Acts of kindness in classrooms have meaningful ripple effects in our larger communities and in other words, kindness is contagious.

As teachers, there are many ways we can spread kindness in class, even when they’re learning remotely. First, by building on children’s knowledge: Activate children’s personal experiences with kindness by making it an explicit topic of conversation. We can ask our students to describe kind acts they have performed and received. Invite children to contribute ideas for the behaviors they want to embrace to keep their class a safe, fair, and caring place.

Another significant step is to make it public. How? Be intentional about noticing, recalling, and reflecting on acts of kindness that occur in the classroom. When you observe children being caring, offer specific feedback by telling them exactly what they did and draw out how it positively affected another person. Celebrate and showcase children’s kind acts in your environment. By emphasizing children’s positive contributions, you show them how they can nurture a culture of kindness.

Moreover, give young learners’practice. Like any skill that children are developing, being kind takes practice, so give them lots of it. Provide varied opportunities for students to be helpful to one another and work cooperatively. Anong helpful way is to use literature. You can ask children to read books that spark robust discussions around kindness. Invite children to talk about ways characters act in books. Pose open-ended questions to probe children’s thinking. How does the character acted kindly? How would you have acted if you were in his or her situation? Conversations like this allow children to internalize kind choices, which they can apply to situations in their own lives.

Kindness takes mindfulness. If children are aware and mindful of their own emotions, they may be more likely to be aware and mindful of other people’s emotions, as well. This broader awareness fosters more empathy and consideration of different perspectives. Teach children mindfulness exercises so that they can visualize how it feels to receive kindness and to share it with others. Invite them to imagine how kindness feels inside their hearts.

Make connections between children’s kind acts and the creation of a more positive community, both inside the classroom and outside of it. Instilling the value that each and every person is worthy of respect, care, and kindness fosters the sort of cultural equity that we seek to extend far beyond the classroom.

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