Teaching Peace, Hope, Love, and Kindness

I think it's safe to say we all need a hearty dose of each these days. I might have mentioned it before, but there are quite a few tensions in my 3rd and 4th grade class, many of them stemming from home countries and cultures; these are fueled by the students all living in the same apartment complex. One day in October or November, a student was struggling to pick up papers that had fallen on the floor.  I was busy with a group, so I called out to another student, "Hey, _____, help a brother out." Well. That stopped everyone in their tracks- I got a lot of "Ewww!" and "He's not my brother!"  I explained to them that in our classroom, we are a family and we help each other whenever we can.  They didn't seem to get it.

It all changed a few days later, when we read the story Wings, by Christopher Myers, which is an awesome anti-bullying book.  In the story, the boy who has wings is ostracized for being different.  We talked about how each one of us is different in good ways, and that eventually led us to talking about being a classroom family.  Now, when someone needs help, you'll hear someone call out, "Hey, help a brother out!"

Later in the year, I co-taught a lesson with our guidance intern on iMessages.  It comes in very useful as a peace-keeping strategy, and teaches students how to interact with kind words, instead of harsh words.  I wish someone had taught me iMessages when I was a kid!

I also try to infuse anti-bullying in the passages I write for my own students.   I wrote this for students who had low self-esteem issues, and it carries right over to my students this year, who need the extra boost of motivation to make friends and speak up in classes besides mine. And besides, what kid doesn't love superheroes?!

At the end of the day, I try to teach by example.  If I demonstrate a peaceful demeanor and treat others with love and kindness, I believe my students will pick up on that.