Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/669580
I T W A S A rainy Easter Sunday in 2013. As I entered my local drugstore, I saw three young people, maybe in their late teens or early 20s (a good decade older than the third-graders I teach at a school on the other side of town), huddled together under an awning. They were covered in tattoos and piercings, and most people walking by avoided eye contact. W h i l e I s h o p p e d , I c o u l d n' t h e l p but w onder w hat th eir stor y was. W hy w e re n' t t h e y h o m e w i t h f a m i ly ? We re they runaways? I exited the store and stopped in front of them, holding out three bunny-shaped, cho colat e East er candies. " Th e East er Bunny c oul dn' t f in d y ou to d ay," I to l d them. "So, he asked me to deliver these if I saw you." eir faces softened, and I saw the kids they were 10 years before, kids that could have been in my classroom. They smiled, thanked me, said "God bless you," and gra- ciously took my gifts. I knew that my small act didn't change their situation, but I brightened a moment in their lives. Even more importantly, they changed mine! I liked the way I felt after that random act of kindness (RAOK), and I challenged myself to do one RAOK a day for the month of April. I challenged my family and my friends, even started a Facebook group for others to take the challenge. Th en I to ok it to my cl assro om , my 8-year-olds, my second language learners, the kids who received free and reduced- price breakfasts, lunches, and sometimes even dinners. Could these kids who were struggling in so many different areas find ways to make others happy with RAOKs? I found out quickly that the answer was a resounding "Yes!" ese young peo- ple ate this up. We started by posting our RAOKs on a bulletin board wall. I gave them lists I found online of kid-friendly RAOKs. We watched videos every morn- ing of young people doing RAOKs. The following year, I incorporated a w r it i n g a ssi g n m e n t . Th e stu d e n t s w r o t e t h e i r d a i l y R A O K i n s p e c i a l j o u r n a l s e v e r y m o r n i n g . T h e y c a t e - gorized their acts: did something, gave something, or said something. In May each student gave a PowerPoint presentation about what they learned . I passed out "Pay It Forward" cards to give with their RAOK — it was amazing to see them being exchanged in the classroom, and also with their peers in other classes. We hopped on the app Ripil, where indi- viduals and groups can record their acts of kindness. Students could see their own progress, the class's progress, as well as the progress of other groups around the globe. And get thi s: My little guys asked if we could try to make it to the top of the international leaderboard by the end of April (which was populated at the time by a group from UCLA). I said, "Sure, let's try it." Other classes joined us that year on Ripil, and the month of April at our school became a month of kindness. You could see it everywhere — in the cafeteria, the halls, the playground and the classroom. Parents started asking why their kids were being so kind and giving at home. Kindness had become contagious at our school, and it all culminated last year with our weekend "Kindness Flash Mob." With the help of our school principal, we procured 250 free ice cream passes from a local fast food restaurant. On a rainy Saturday morning a handful of students, quiet and shy at first, began to feel empowered once folks stopped, smiled and asked what they were doing. Most of these kids had never had the opportunity to interact with the kinds of people they were meeting downtown. For those folks to show how impressed they were with these students brought them out of their shells and gave them an experience they will never forget. This year, we are hoping April RAOK Month will take off in classrooms, not only in our city, but across the nation. Spreading kindness can fit right in with the curricu- lum, but more important, it shows our youth that they have the power to make a positive change in their own communities. L e o n L e w a n d o w s k i , S a n t a B a r b a r a Tea ch ers A ssoci ation , ha s b een an el e- mentar y school teacher in California for 19 years. He i s the author of Secrets of Safety-Net Parenting under the name Leon Scott Baxter. A Little Kindness in the Curriculum By LEON LEWANDOWSKI Could these kids who were struggling in so many different areas find ways to make others happy with random acts of kindness? The answer was a resounding 'Yes!' YOUR VOICE 17 April 2016