By Eleanor Beeslaar
Kindness is essential to positive growth and learning, as it promotes healthy relationships and helps us develop lifelong skills that can lead to future success and fulfillment. Schools and universities encompass this spirit of growth, learning, and development, and have a unique platform to spread kindness throughout our community. By teaching students about kindness and encouraging them to engage in acts of kindness with their peers, teachers/professors, and community, schools and universities can vastly spread the impact of kindness in our community.
Teachers and professors can show kindness through their actions towards students. This doesn’t mean they need to bring them treats or give them extra credit (although, that is surely always appreciated). Instead, it can be something as simple, yet essential, as speaking to them with compassion and approaching their role as an educator with understanding and empathy. A great way for teachers to promote kindness in the classroom is by incorporating it into their curriculum. The Random Acts of Kindness website has many amazing resources for teachers, including free kindness lesson plans! Universities can also spread kindness by showing appreciation for their students, as well as creating events that encourage students to show acts of kindness to their peers, professors, and university staff.
For more ideas about how you can incorporate kindness at schools visit https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-ideas.