One thing I love about teaching middle and high school is the unique ability to watch my students forming their own world views, as they encounter the good, the bad, and the ugly of everyday life. These past few years, we’ve seen too little of the good: families pulled apart by political upset, gun violence and hate crimes on the rise, and the entire world devastated by an enemy virus. Now, more than ever, I worry about the world view our children are forming and what role we play in that.
Our weekly gratitude practice is an attempt to help students see the good in their lives. We watch short videos or read poetry that carries a positive message. Danusha Lameris's poem, "Small Kindnesses" is a perfect example. In the poem, Lameris speaks of the everyday nice things people do, usually without thinking - saying “bless you” and “thank you,’’ holding a door, or smiling at someone – good things.
Some lines are particularly effective in moving students to think. Lameris writes: Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other. “Is this true?” I ask.
Much more thought provoking, are the lines:
We have so little of each other now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
"Tribe and fire" . . . These words conjure images of ancient people gathering for safety, warmth, and fellowship. The discussion that follows involves how we connect to others, how we still long for that sense of fellowship. Students then have three options for writing topics:
- small kindnesses they’ve experienced that week - perhaps unnoticed,
- connections in their own ‘tribes’ that provide safety and/or fellowship, or
- goodness/kindness that exists in humans (mostly).
“Small Kindnesses” is a poem of encouragement that shines a light on human kindness.
Further Reading:
Elizabeth Jones is an English teacher in the Central Bucks School District in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
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