Words of kindness

My students were kindness detectives before spring break; they had one other learner who they had to “spy on” through the week to notice acts of kindness.  They each had notecards to record three acts of kindness that they witnessed.  Throughout the week, they surreptitiously pulled out their cards and jotted down what they saw.  Our school counselor came in for her weekly lesson and collected the cards at the end of the week.

Today, the day after spring break, she gathered the students together and had them share out the kindnesses they noticed.

“I noticed that he picked up trash on the playground,” one girl said about another classmate.  A smile lit his face as he shyly looked down.  Other students nodded that they, too, had seen his kind act.

Another student piped up, “I saw C. helping ____ clean up.”  As he said those words, a giant grin broke out over C.’s face.  Perhaps my most challenging learner, C. doesn’t always hear compliments throughout the day from his classmates.  It was obvious that this comment made an impact.  He sat a little taller.  He looked a little more confident.  He responded with a sincere “thank you.”  And the students continued to share what they saw.

What a beautiful moment at the end of our day.

Kindness is truly a powerful agent of change.  In the words of Mother Teresa, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

What kindness have you noticed lately?  How have you chosen to be kind?