Learning to Grow Every Day

This week’s blog covers two different topics because I did not want these topics to slip through the cracks. The two topics are not really related but so vitally important to what I am doing with my character-building curriculum for my 12th-grade English curriculum. UCLA Establishes Kindness Institute Yes, I will admit it, I googled “kindness” to see what articles might spark some inspiration for me this week. I was thrilled to have come across the following article about UCLA establishing a legitimate research institute to study kindness. Their goal is to research all aspects of kindness within organizations and people and determine how those characteristics can transfer to real-life applications on spreading kindness. Daniel Fessler, the appointed director of the institute, will be focused on, “...exploring how witnessing acts of remarkable kindness can cause an uplifting emotional experience that in turn motivates the observer to be kind” (Abraham). I love that the univers...

Like many kids from my generation or younger. Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was a staple in our household. There were so many lessons to be learned from Mr. Rogers: one, we are all unique and loved two, kindness and compassion are so important three, understanding our feelings and knowing how to deal with them is a crucial aspect of growing up. When I came across, The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers on my Libby app I knew immediately that it had to be my next read. An added bonus was that Lavar Burton, host of Reading Rainbow , another childhood favorite of mine, was the reader. What follows is a brief review and recommendation. Written by Maxwell King in 2018, The Good Neighbor gives the reader a glimpse into Fred Rogers's childhood, college years, and finally his introduction to television, which is where he found his purpose in life. It was certainly enlightening to learn the background into what made Fred Rogers who he was as an adult. I was surprised to fin...

When I set out to write about positivity and kindness, I had been trying to think of ways that I could get my students thinking about putting others before themselves. I love that the 12th-grade Learning Strategies class has a year-long project that requires the students to “pay-it-forward” and to complete several random acts of kindness throughout the school year. My goal, sometime this quarter, is to have my English students think of ways they can do this in their own school community in order to tag along with what they are doing in learning strategies. This could even be an opportunity to develop some ideas for how they will approach their acts of kindness for Learning Strategies. Recently, CBS posted a story on their website that showed how two students decided to give new clothes and shoes to a 9th-grade student, Michael, who had been bullied for wearing the same outfit every day because that is all his family could afford. Students had laughed at him and mocked him for hi...

In a previous blog post about having a positive mindset , I referenced an article by psychologist Angela Duckworth in which she suggested that reading can make us more empathetic. That notion was reinforced this week by a short New York Times article by Tina Jordan in which she encouraged her readers to begin reading again. Her article referenced a study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that found that Americans between the ages of 15 and 54 read for an average of 10 minutes a day or less (“American Time Use Survey News Release”). My positive thought for this week’s blog revolves around what we are trying to do at Lawrence with the juniors and seniors in regards to encouraging that reading and using reading to help us develop empathy and understanding. Mrs. Janamanchi and I started a challenge at the beginning of the school year, where our goal is to read at least 40 books each-which would be a book per week for the entire school year. We have also recruited our classes to help ...

In my quest to find positivity and kindness in the world, I have had to be more intentional about paying attention to the inspiring stories in the news. The stories are there, but you have to look carefully. In the past two weeks, I have come across two stories in the news which have helped boost my spirits about the power of positive and generous people. They were both about people that don’t have to choose the attitude that they have. Michael Phelps and Stephen Curry could just as easily escape back into their money, notoriety, and blissful life. They could pridefully view past successes and find discontent in aging. But, they don’t. Both have a different but compelling and admirable story. Michael Phelps spent the better part of two decades dominating the swimming world, winning 23 gold medals and setting countless world records. Karen Crouse of the New York Times caught up with Phelps recently to discuss the loss of a couple of world records he had lost. Instead of feeling ...