kindness

kindness is being nice.

i experienced a career high this week, but before i tell you about it...i need to explain some background information. my school is located in a highly transient area. to put it into better perspective, my building houses kindergarten through 8th grade, and out of the 22 kids that started with me in 2006...only 5 are left. my first year of teaching 9 years ago happened to be the very first year my charter school opened. therefore, the kids in 8th grade this year are entitled the legacy class, because some of them were there from the very beginning. where i grew up, a lot of the same kids i went to kindergarten with graduated with me from high school. hell, i met my husband and most of my friends in my 6th grade year and we've been cronies ever since. therefore, it's kinda hard to wrap my head around the fact that only 5 of my kids are left from that first year. i have watched some of these 5 year-olds grow into young men and women before my eyes, and i feel very proud of them. teaching is a profession that is closely associated with parenthood...if you are doing it right. as a teacher, i really, truly want to see my school kids succeed. the ultimate goal in mind, as a kindergarten teacher...is to make these kids love learning so that they go on to be happy, healthy students and eventually productive members of society. that being said, some of these kids recently had to write reflections about what they most remember about their teachers they had throughout the years, because this year they graduate from our school.

a mother of one of these children shared with me this week that her son's reflection stated that what he most remembered about me is that i was kind to him...and that i taught him how to be kind to other people. she kinda laughed it off when she told me, thinking i was going to be disappointed or something that he didn't say i taught him how to read, or write, or learn his numbers. if this child, this now young man, this future member of our society is going to remember one thing from kindergarten, you bet your number 2 pencil i hope he remembers how to be kind to other people. (teaching win.) i couldn't have been happier when she told me that, actually. (awesome.) i strive very hard from day one in my classroom to create a climate that is conducive to loving learning..and loving each other. i want children to know that they are safe in my classroom and will be accepted for who they are. i want them to be nice to each other, and help each other out when needed. the world can be so cruel and some of the things the kids i teach have gone through...are more than i have gone through in my entire life. in fact, this past week i attended a funeral for a mother of one of my former students, who died of an alleged drug overdose. the mom was my age and left behind four children, all of which attend our school. i can't imagine what those kids are going through...or the heartache and struggles they will face in the future. kids like this need kind and accepting teachers and classrooms, because sometimes it's all they've got. i had my kindergarteners this year share what they thought kindness was, and included are some of their responses.

kindness is helping people.

in a world that is pushing technology and standardized testing, many times i am at the other end of the spectrum and go old school. i find children often respond best to these methods, no matter how dated they may be. (back to basics, please.) i prefer paper and pencil to monitor and keyboard. puzzles and play doh to ipads. some parents are disappointed at the beginning of the year when i tell them this, but they always come around by the end of the year. i believe the "new" way to do things is not always the best way. i believe having a child's best interest at heart should always be at the heart of instruction. moreover, i think teaching children how to be kind and loving kids creates kind and loving adults. where do adults that are nasty to each other get in life anyway? i certainly don't want to be around anyone like that. truth be told, i can be an jerk sometimes. it's not all rainbows and unicorns always. (believe me) i don't put on my mary poppins hat everyday, either. some days i suck at teaching and some days i suck at parenting, i am realistic about that...but i always strive to do better. as another school year passes, i know that i have taught children to read, to write, to listen, to respond, and to recognize their numbers. i know that i have instilled a love of learning that i hope will last a lifetime. i know that i have elicited smiles and laughter along the way. i have also expected them to be respectful, obedient, and accept their peers. most of all, i hope that they take away from this year that i truly cared for them and their classmates. i hope, like my former 8th grader, that they simply remember that i was kind to them...and that they should be kind to other people. in a world that has seemingly gone mad sometimes, kindness will never be overrated. sometimes i believe certain people would benefit going back to kindergarten for a little while...to remember what life is truly all about. kindness for the win. 

 

kindness is sharing ice cream.