 Creating a personal teacher/administrator mission statement has powerful positive effects on you and your students. In our 21 Day Kindness Challenge: Classroom Edition we talk about how a teacher’s mood can impact the classroom environment. You can’t be an effective leader to your students unless you have a strong sense of who you are and what you stand for. If you take the time to create your personal teacher/administrator mission statement, you will be a top notch teacher, counselor, and principal.
"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." Peter Drucker Planning in the off season. Summer is your off season, and it’s a perfect time for you to relax, reflect and plan. John Wooden, late head coach of the UCLA basketball team, took advantage of the off season by focusing on one area in his sport and learning all he could. Wooden filled his days by talking with other coaches, conducting research, reading books and took the time to reflect on his coaching. Take advantage of the time you have this summer to write your personal teacher mission statement, read some inspiring books and plan for success. Write from the heart. Take the time to think about what will motivate you to be excited to teach and lead every day. Jot down a few words that resinate with you. Recall the reasons you became a teacher or administrator. Perhaps there was a teacher in your life that you admired, what qualities did that person possess? What do you want to inspire in others? What kinds of things do you want to be remembered for? What qualities do you see in others that inspires you? Keep it simple. Try keeping your mission statement simple - one or four sentences. If you would prefer you can also make a bullet point list of powerful words. Block off some time for this as it may take you anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours. Here is an example of a couple of mission statements: “To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind.” - Steve Jobs “A promise to my students:
Take time to read it daily. After you’ve completed your mission statement, take the time to read it daily. We suggest reading your mission statement every morning before your students walk through the door. Keep it handy for those moments when you need a little encouragement. Share your mission statement with us. We’d love for you to share your mission statement with us as a comment following this blog post or on our social media channels Facebook and Twitter. You never know who you may inspire!  It is equally important to teach kindness at home as it is to teach kindness in the classroom. Parents and teachers working together to help children understand how to be kind will have a greater impact in making a lasting change. Amy Joyce, writer from On Parenting, has an article in the Washington Post that lays out five simple ways parents can cultivate kindness at home. The article Are you raising nice kids? A Harvard psychologist gives 5 ways to raise them to be kind offers great ways to teach children how to be kind, have empathy and care for one another. Be the Change! Be Kind! Five suggestions by Richard Weissbourd, a Harvard psychologist*
 What does it take to bring kindness to your campus? It is very easy to bring the 21 Day Kindness Challenge to your school! It only requires a few things: Commitment. The 21 Day Kindness Challenge makes the greatest impact when the school, students and community are all involved. Is my school ready? Timing. The 21 Day Kindness Challenge works best when it can be implemented over 21 consecutive school days. We have found that September, October, February, March and April are the best months to hold the 21 Day Kindness Challenge. Leadership. All you need is one or two adults who are passionate about making a difference on your campus – this can be a school counselor, teacher, aide, yard duty, parent, librarian, ASB coordinator, custodian, etc. – to provide support and guidance to your student leaders. Student leaders – a group of committed, active students who care about their school and campus. Kindness Coach profiles: Nan Singleton and Carol Dudley. Materials. The 21 Day Kindness Program provides everything else you need to change the culture on your school campus! Elementary and middle school materials include: a kindness guide to walk you through every planning phase, kindness strips to record acts of kindness, wristbands for everyone on campus to remind of their commitment to kindness, kindness boxes, access to our exclusive website, training and support. High school materials include: a kindness guide to walk you and your student group through every planning phase, kindness cards to record acts of kindness, wristbands for everyone on campus to remind of their commitment to kindness, kindness boxes, kindness promise, kind o’meter, access to our exclusive website, training and support. Check out our store for a list of package options. Be the Change. Learn more about how you can bring the 21 Day Kindness Challenge to your school!  Our book pick for the month is Lessons from the Classroom: 20 Things Good Teachers Do by Hal Urban. In his book, he offers great advice for veteran teachers and new teachers. Urban’s 20 lessons combine a harmonious mix of classroom management, personal improvement, and character development.
“When you focus on developing the whole child, not just their mind, children will learn to do things they didn’t think they could possibly do.” Hal Urban A book for newbies and veterans. Hal Urban, a 35-year veteran high school teacher, offers newbies and veterans teachers an incredible tool for creating a kinder, more inclusive school and classroom. Urban gives 20 practical lessons about building community, creating a positive atmosphere, and debunking cliques. Think outside the box. Although it is directed at classroom teachers, counselors, librarians, and administrators can too greatly benefit from the lessons found in this book. Particularly, Lesson 6: Good teachers create a caring community; Lesson 10: Good teachers, along with their students, have a mission; Lesson 14: Good teachers help students discover the power of choice, and Lesson 12: Good teachers help their students both own and honor their rules; Lesson 16: The power of quotations. Suggestion for “others” on campus. If you are a counselor, librarian, or administrator complete Lesson 6: Good teachers create a caring community. In this lesson, Urban suggests students conduct a two-minute interview with other students in their class, but we suggest you sit down with every student at your school and conduct your own two-minute interview. Here are a few of Urban’s suggested questions: With whom do you live with? You may include siblings away at college (or serving in the arm forces). What is something you own that is very special to you and why? What is an important goal you have for your life? Who is someone you greatly admire? Why? It must be someone you know. Share your thoughts with us. We’d love for you to share your thoughts on this month’s book pick: Lessons from the Classroom: 20 Things Good Teachers Do by Hal Urban, with us as a comment following this blog post or on our social media channels Facebook and Twitter. Do I Really Have Time to Run a Kindness Challenge at My School? One Kindness Coach’s Experience7/7/2016  When Carol Dudley’s principal approached her about leading the 21 Day Kindness Challenge at Bradley Elementary School in Corralitos, California she was a little apprehensive. She loved the program and the benefits she knew it would bring to their campus and students. Two of her children had participated at nearby Rio del Mar Elementary, and she had seen first-hand the positive impact the 21 Day Kindness Challenge makes for children and schools. She was concerned because she was a part-time intervention teacher at Bradley, assisting in a variety of classrooms including teaching PE. Would she have the time to also be the Kindness Coach? Her principal, Brian Saxton, was excited about bringing the 21 Day Kindness Challenge to Bradley. The 21 Day Kindness Challenge fit perfectly with his vision for the school and created the type of school culture he wanted to cultivate. He assured Carol that she would have his full support as well as that of the teaching staff. They agreed that in their first year of running the 21 Day Kindness Challenge, Bradley Elementary would implement a low-key, very simple Kindness Challenge.  Bradley's Celebration Day Bradley Elementary exceeded everyone’s expectations beyond belief! They performed more than 8,000 Acts of Kindness in their first 21 Day Kindness Challenge. The teachers, administration, and staff all felt extremely positive about the program. “I was so impressed by the 21 Day Kindness Challenge,” says Dawn Jackson, Kindergarten teacher. “My students loved participating. They especially loved the daily videos provided by the program. I really saw a difference on campus.” And Carol Dudley? Her apprehensions dissipated as soon as she received her “Kindness Box” full of 21 Day Kindness Challenge materials and her 21 Day Kindness Challenge Guide. “It had everything I needed to run the program,” she says. “It was so easy to implement – it really didn’t take much to coordinate at all. And the exclusive website (access provided with every order) had all the videos, trainings and materials we needed.” “Everything went so smoothly,” says Carol. "It was so easy to follow and everything I needed was right there. It was much easier to run than I ever thought it would be. The students and the teachers all really got into the challenge...it was contagious! It was very fun to watch the enthusiasm. It was also a daily, gentle reminder of how easy it is to be kind."
Suggested Classroom Kindness Projects included in the 21 Day Kindness Challenge Packages. And Carol Dudley? Her apprehensions dissipated as soon as she received her “Kindness Box” full of 21 Day Kindness Challenge materials and her 21 Day Kindness Challenge Guide. “It had everything I needed to run the program,” she says. “It was so easy to implement – it really didn’t take much to coordinate at all. And the exclusive website (access provided with every order) had all the videos, trainings and materials we needed.” “Everything went so smoothly,” says Carol. "It was so easy to follow and everything I needed was right there. It was much easier to run than I ever thought it would be. The students and the teachers all really got into the challenge...it was contagious! It was very fun to watch the enthusiasm. It was also a daily, gentle reminder of how easy it is to be kind." “Carol is amazing,” says Christy Tall, Vice President of the 21 Day Kindness Challenge. “She reached out to me because she was concerned about her ability to run the program effectively at Bradley. I assured her that it wouldn’t take a lot of time away from her already very busy day. Carol’s big heart, her understanding of her students, and her kind nature made her an ideal Kindness Coach. We are so proud of what she has accomplished at Bradley!”
We are all born to make a difference. The relationships you build every day with your students will leave a lasting impression – make sure it is a good one! Rita Pierson, a 40-year veteran teacher, speaks from the heart when she shares her story about the value and importance of building relationships with students. Pierson’s TEDTalk - Every Kid Needs a Champion is a MUST watch for all of us who what make a difference in the lives of youth. "Kids don't learn from people they don't like"  |
