At school today I had the task of matting students' artwork onto colored paper. I was almost done with the project when the glue stick I was using ran out. Realizing I was on the final piece, I banged the stick on the paper and tried my best to use whatever remnants remained. Next thing I know, a student in my class appeared at my side with a new glue stick in hand. He had been on his way to pack up his belongings when he must have seen me struggling. Kids in this class rush to their cubbies to pack up and go home. He had taken time out, sacrificed being the first one (a highly coveted position!), to help me.
Maybe this doesn't seem like anything to any of you. But to me, it was a really nice gesture that hit me at exactly the right time. No one asked him to help. He noticed that I was in need of some assistance, and took it upon himself to help. My question is this, how do you raise kids to be like this? If 'raising' is too big of a concept to address, how do you foster this behavior in your classroom--- to encourage a type of kindness that seems to stem from the core?
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3 comments:
Thats a hard one to answer. It seems like there are always a few really nice and thoughtful kids out there. Perhaps they were brought up that way, sometimes I think its just temprement
I agree with Lo to an extent, but I think that perhaps as teachers, we should work on creating a community that fosters this kind of thoughtful behavior. I think this is definitely possible. How will kids learn to be kind if they are not taught how to be kind? I think during the first few weeks of school, the act of helping and giving can be awarded. For example, as a child helps another student, reward them with a positive phrase. We can teach through modeling other students. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks turn to months, the children will notice that kindness is a good thing, as it garners rewards. And perhaps through trying to be kind and thoughtful, they will realize that it makes them feel good too.
This is just one way of teaching kindness. We are going to be TEACHers after all, with the emphasis on the word "teach." So why not teach our students these very important life skills?
How nice of that little boy! You have a secret admirer :) I think this is a case by case basis. There are times where I am obviously struggling with something, and I look up to find blank stares. I think the best way to approach these life skills is to reinforce good behavior and lead by example. If I am helpful and generous with students, I would hope they would see that and want to reciprocate. I also think this is an issue that depends on age. Some younger kids are kind of oblivious and most all are egotistical. It is not a bad thing, it is just what they are experiencing at that time in their lives. Set the tone for your class and hopefully your students will follow!
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