The "Wonder" of it all...

This week, I am in charge of kindness week at my school. This program is a part of the No Place for Hate movement through the Anti-Defamation League. The program since its launch has been extremely successful at providing a safe school where students combat bullying and spread kindness. 
It also has the mission of making sure all students have a place to belong.

I can't help but smile as I see elementary students spreading acts of kindness and writing sweet notes of encouragement to one another. One of my students asked, "Why do we only do this for a week? Shouldn't we do this all the time?" Of course, the goal is for these lessons to stick and for students to incorporate the core value of kindness in their lives consistently.

As I spend time reflecting on the book, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, I think about kindness, inclusion, and acceptance. Wonder is a testament to simple, basic kindness. It tells the story of Auggie who was born with a facial deformity who attends school for the first time. Although he is brave, he combats bullies, pressures of fitting in, and people making fun of him because of his appearance. It takes so little kindness to make such a big difference. I wonder if there was a kindness week at Auggie's school if it would have made a difference in acceptance? Unfortunately, bullying is not an issue that I believe is going away overnight, but it is my job as an educator to continue to model the right behaviors and advocate for my students. 

"If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary—the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God." -Mr. Tushman from Wonder