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In a world where chaos and hatred seem to be reigning, I agree that it is the responsibility of all of us to bring about peace. It is a process. Let's start with teaching the younger generation how to be peaceful through kindness.
As educators and parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children to be kind. To do this effectively, we must lead by example. Show kindness. Be kind. Children learn by watching. They internalize what they witness and experience.
At home, we can start by being kind to one another. Practicing saying "thank you" or " you look wonderful today" or "can I help you with that?" are simple steps towards building a culture of kindness.
At dinner time, as the family sits down together, why not highlight acts of kindness that was shown or experienced during the day. Simple conversation but important and useful.
In the school setting, teachers can also contribute to this culture of being kind to one another. As part of the daily routine, in younger classrooms, teachers can build a "kindness chart" where children can freely go and place a sticker against the name of another child who has displayed an act of kindness. To self monitor, the teacher can have his/her name on the chart too and it will amaze you to see what children actually notice about the level of kindness of a teacher.
At the end of the week, a small discussion surrounding the issue of kindness can be carried out where the teacher can facilitate the exploration of emotions. I find that these days, we are almost afraid to explore feelings beyond the surface "are you happy or sad?" within the classroom environment.
If we can start with the building of kindness from a young age, I truly believe that it will have a profound effect on children's emotional growth in the long term. We not be able to change the whole world but we can start by changing one child at a time...
As educators and parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children to be kind. To do this effectively, we must lead by example. Show kindness. Be kind. Children learn by watching. They internalize what they witness and experience.
At home, we can start by being kind to one another. Practicing saying "thank you" or " you look wonderful today" or "can I help you with that?" are simple steps towards building a culture of kindness.
At dinner time, as the family sits down together, why not highlight acts of kindness that was shown or experienced during the day. Simple conversation but important and useful.
In the school setting, teachers can also contribute to this culture of being kind to one another. As part of the daily routine, in younger classrooms, teachers can build a "kindness chart" where children can freely go and place a sticker against the name of another child who has displayed an act of kindness. To self monitor, the teacher can have his/her name on the chart too and it will amaze you to see what children actually notice about the level of kindness of a teacher.
At the end of the week, a small discussion surrounding the issue of kindness can be carried out where the teacher can facilitate the exploration of emotions. I find that these days, we are almost afraid to explore feelings beyond the surface "are you happy or sad?" within the classroom environment.
If we can start with the building of kindness from a young age, I truly believe that it will have a profound effect on children's emotional growth in the long term. We not be able to change the whole world but we can start by changing one child at a time...
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