2 Small, Consistent Actions to Promote Kindness
Small, consistent actions was part of the message when Sam Demma visited our district.
He talked to students about how a teacher told him that small, consistent actions can change the world. His message was clear enough to resonate with our students and they still continue talking about how much they enjoyed his visit.
I highly recommend inviting him to speak at your school to share his message. It was powerful. In fact, you can even hear part of his message through his Ted Talk.
I feel like junior high and high school students often think they can’t make changes due to their age or their lack of resources. One takeaway I had from Sam’s presentation was small, consistent actions.
It starts small. It happens more often than not. It will grow and it will reach others. I knew this was a key component I wanted to use in my classroom.
Third quarter was a struggle. We only had one scheduled day off and didn’t have our usual February snow days. (Although I will also take an abnormally warmer February).
Students were struggling to be kind and respectful to each other. Teachers were struggling with student behaviors. You know the scenario, you can’t just let up and have recess because everyone needs a break. There are still responsibilities and curriculum to teach.
I had already decided to include small, consistent actions to finish out our life skills week before Spring break.
Not only was it much needed, but it was well received. I challenge you to find a way to incorporate small, consistent actions into your classroom before the end of the year. It could be a random day and not several days joined together.
My focus for these two days was spreading kindness. Small, consistent actions to bring a smile to others. Sometimes with teens, you need to remind them these actions are free and simple, but actually are meaningful.
Your actions
It started with their actions. I make expectations clear that you should greet me when you enter the room. I stand at the door to monitor the halls, and yet, I still have students who walk right passed me without saying hi, smiling, nodding, or acknowledging me.
I encouraged students to greet every single teacher, even the ones they might not like. Greet them every single time you enter their room. It makes a difference.
I also told students that a small, consistent action to make any class better is to face forward when the teacher is speaking and actually listen to the directions.
Yes, we were in the trenches at the end of third quarter and needed these kind of reminders.
Overall, I would say most were very receptive and made these changes to finish out the week. Small, consistent actions was enough of a reminder that it can make a huge difference.
Painted rocks
The next small, consistent action was painting rocks to leave around the community for others to find.
I used smaller, flat rocks from our courtyard and craft paint. Students were excited to paint a positive message.
Some asked to paint two rocks. Some wanted to hide them on their spring break vacation. The buy-in was huge.
Who knew painting rocks was relaxing and enjoyable for so many? I even had some students thank me for choosing an activity that made a difference. That’s impressive in the junior high world!
We left the rocks to dry for a couple days and then students took them home over spring break.
Encouraging letter
Another small, consistent action was writing letters of encouragement to every single 5th grader in the district.
I printed a card template with a positive phrase or message in bubble letters. Students were to color or decorate the front and write more than a one phrase encouraging message inside.
Each one of my students created 4 cards and these were expected to be finished by the end of class. Very few students needed more time. Some even asked to write a few more before we sent them off.
I know one or two reminders about small, consistent actions won’t be the key to change and kindness among students.
But reminding students that change can happen with actions that are small and actions that are consistent.