It’s now part of the curriculum, but many parents are still unsure about why their kids should learn to be kind. The benefits include better relationships with teachers and classmates, as well as a less violent future for the world. Here are 8 reasons why kindness is so important in school.
Kindness is something that everyone should learn. The 8 reasons for teaching kindness in school are to teach children how to be kind, help them feel good about themselves, and to make the world a better place. Read more in detail here: what does kindness teach us.
Title: Kindness is something you learn by feeling it.
Lisa Curry, Project Ripple Kindness
Most people have heard of the phrase Random Acts of Kindness, which refers to a selfless act of generosity that makes another person happy. Terms like this are becoming increasingly popular around the world, as more and more people recognize that there is a gap in their lives that can only be filled by altruism.
We can’t get enough of those addictive, pleasurable emotions, and for good reason.
Scientific research has shown that kindness has many physical and emotional benefits, and that children need a good dose of warmth and gentleness to grow up to be healthy, happy, well-adjusted individuals.
Patti O’Grady, PhD, is an expert in neuroscience, emotional learning, and positive psychology, with a special interest in education. She believes that kindness changes the brain through the experience of kindness. Children and young people don’t learn about kindness just by thinking and talking about it. Goodness is learned by feeling it and then imitating it. Kindness is an emotion students feel, and empathy is a strength they share.
The theory of teaching kindness in schools has many advantages.
8 reasons to teach kindness in school
1. Happy Children
Science explains that the good feelings we experience when we show kindness are produced by endorphins, which activate parts of the brain associated with joy, social connectedness and trust. These feelings of joy have been proven to be contagious and to encourage both the giver and the receiver to behave in a kinder manner.
2. Increased peer acceptance
Research on this topic has shown that kindness increases our ability to make meaningful connections with others. Research shows that friendly, happy children are more accepted by their peers because they are liked, and classes that exhibit more inclusive behavior have better average mental health due to an equal distribution of popularity.
3. Improved health and less stress
It is widely known that kindness can trigger the release of the hormone oxytocin, which has several benefits for physical and mental health, as it can significantly increase happiness levels and reduce stress. More recently, however, it has been shown to play an important role in the cardiovascular system, helping to protect the heart by lowering blood pressure and reducing free radicals and inflammation, which incidentally accelerate the aging process.
4. Increased sense of belonging and self-esteem
Research shows that people experience a euphoric effect when they do a good deed, a jolt of endorphins that provides a lasting sense of pride, well-being and an enriched sense of belonging. Even small acts of kindness have been shown to improve our well-being, increase our energy, and give us a great sense of optimism and self-worth.
5. Reinforcing the feeling of gratitude
When children are involved in projects that help people less fortunate than themselves, it gives them a real sense of perspective and helps them appreciate the good things in their own lives.
6. Better concentration and better results
Because it increases serotonin levels, which play an important role in learning, memory, mood, sleep, health and digestion, kindness is an important ingredient in helping children feel good about themselves. With a positive attitude, they can pay better attention and think more creatively to do better in school.
7. Less harassment.
Two Penn State Harrisburg researchers, Shanetya Clark and Barbara Marinak, say that unlike previous generations, today’s teens are bullying each other at an alarming rate. They argue that bullying and violence by teens can be countered by school programs that include kindness, the opposite of victimization.
Many traditional anti-bullying programs focus on the negative behaviors that make children anxious and often have little effect. Instilling kindness and compassion in school not only promotes positive behaviors that create a warm and inclusive school environment, but also helps children develop a sense of belonging. It has been shown that the effects of bullying can be significantly reduced by implementing kindness-based programs in schools.
8. Reduced depression scores
World-renowned author and speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer says research has shown that the act of kindness increases the level of serotonin (the natural mood-enhancing chemical) in the brain. Serotonin levels have also been found to rise in both the giver and receiver of a kind gesture, and in anyone who witnesses the kindness, making it an excellent natural antidepressant.
Conclusion
Maurice Elias, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University, said: As a citizen, grandparent, father and professional, I understand that instilling kindness should be part of the mission of schools. Without this community, families, schools and classrooms become hostile places where long-term learning is unlikely.
We must be prepared to instill kindness, as it can be delayed by early abuse. It can be suffocated by the weight of poverty and derailed by victimization later in life. But despite these and other difficulties, receiving goodness and being able to manifest it through service simultaneously promotes the growth and purification of the soul.
Kindness can be learned and is an essential aspect of civilized human life. It should be in every home, school, neighborhood and community.
It has become abundantly clear that modern education must encompass more than the academic disciplines. For children to grow up to be happy, confident, versatile individuals, matters of the heart must be taken seriously and given high priority.
Lisa Curry is the founder of the Ripple Kindness Project, a community and school-based program to improve social, emotional and mental health and reduce bullying in schools through kindness. Through this ongoing school-wide program, children explore their emotions and the impact of their words and actions on others, and have the opportunity to notice and demonstrate kindness in everyday situations. Learn more at ripplekindness.org; image attributed to flickr user horiztonalintegration; 8 reasons to teach kindness in school.
References:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/sel-teaching-kindness-maurice-elias
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-r-hamilton-phd/kindness-benefits_b_869537.html
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positive-psychology-in-the-classroom/201302/the-positive-psychology-kindness
http://phys.org/news191601357.html
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0051380
The “culture of kindness at school” is a topic that has been the subject of many studies. In this blog, we will discuss 8 reasons why teaching kindness in school can have a positive impact on students.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should kindness be taught in schools?
How do you teach kindness in school?
A: We have to teach children the importance of being kind because not everyone is nice.
What is kindness in teaching?
A: Kindness in teaching is the quality of being gentle, caring, and supportive in ones interactions with others. The term kindness emerged from an idea that education should start early enough to develop children into kind adults who interact positively with other people throughout their lives.
Related Tags
- why is kindness important in school
- how to promote kindness in school
- teaching kindness to high school students
- teaching kindness in the classroom
- teaching students to be kind and respectful
