Why Kind Schools?

For many of us this is a time of intense change, challenge and introspection. Those privileged to be safe and secure in our basic needs of shelter, sustenance, and good health can more easily acquire our needs of connection, comfort and education.

Crucially, the pursuit of knowledge often facilitates greater choices and freedoms. Education affords us opportunities to increase our wealth, both monetarily and through experience and enrichment. It supports and improves our psychological and physiological wellbeing. It allows us to have a stronger buffer to cope with adversity and consolidates resilience. It provides a supportive environment to try and fail, learning the importance of discovery, self-awareness and competence.

Kind Schools holds a vision of the future being a kinder and more compassionate place for all citizens, creatures and environments in our world. We believe kindness matters, and we want school communities to contribute to this vision, but how do we encourage and implement kindness in our society, and why would we bother doing so?

Persian poet Saadi Shiraz wrote "Bani Adam" (Human Being); this poem is inscribed in the entrance hall of the United Nations building in New York.

This poem highlights humanity and kindness, emphasising that our humanity is dependent on our compassion, empathy and connection to one another. Kindness promotes unity, collective consciousness and relationship with aspects both inside and outside of ourselves. Benevolence is defined as being well-meaning, the intention and action to support another's needs for the better and demonstrate care when they experience distress, in other words, kindness (Briody, 2019). Philosopher and composer Jean Jacques Rousseau asked, "What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" viewing kindness as the international duty of humanity.

Scientific research informs us that positive endorphins and hormones are released in acts of kindness, alongside creating new neural connections (Ballatt & Campling, 2011). With the neuroplasticity abilities within our brains, kindness can become a "self-authenticating habit" (Mathers, 2016). The more kindness acts we implement, the more we find it easier to sustain and continue to engage in kindness actions; frequency equals momentum.

Experiencing kindness can reduce anxiety and improves mental wellbeing. The facilitation of kindness meditation practices alleviated university students depression, anxiety and stress in both the short and long term (Totzek, 2020). Kindness qualities are valued within the therapy, and medical professions, with compassionate care, a focus in health professionals training. The Greek Physician Hippocrates knew the value of compassion in the medical fields, stating, 'Cure sometimes, treat often, and comfort always.' (Gilbert, 2009).                                      

Kindness has numerous definitions and interpretations (Mathers, 2016). Researcher Robert Sternberg (1998) defines kindness as a type of wisdom, arguing that all children have it, and it must be encouraged and nurtured before it is too late to acquire and experience its reciprocal benefits. Briody (2019) promotes the value of a teaching ethic based on kindness, arguing that kindness is a deeper attribute than caring or justice, which benefits both instigator and the recipient.

'Kind Schools' Kindness

Kindness content appears everywhere, as slogans on t-shirts, political speeches and affirmations posted on social media. It appears easy to wear and hear. At Kind Schools, we want our school communities to find it easy to do and support you in this process with our resources and expertise.

We define kindness as the awareness, intention and action to implement care for ourselves, others, and our world through the genuine implementation of our three C's: Compassion, Connection, and Courage.

Building on the three C’s of Kindness, we have developed a Model of Kindness that identifies nine teachable qualities of kindness. This model informs our Kindness Survey and all of the resources that we provide.

We invite you to share your knowledge, embrace your curiosity and join us on our quest to support kindness practices in our global school communities.

References.

Akhtar, S. (2015) Human goodness : origins, manifestations, and clinical implications.

Ballatt J, Campling P. (2011) Intelligent kindness: reforming the culture of healthcare. London: RCPsych Publications.

Briody, Steve. (2019) A Case for Kindness: A New Look at the Teaching Ethic, Myers Education Press.

Gilbert P. The compassionate mind. London: Robinson, 2009.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/jeanjacques_rousseau_406107
Chicago Style Citation.

Mathers, Nigel. (2016). Compassion and the science of kindness: Harvard Davis Lecture 2015. British Journal of General Practice, 66(648), e525–e527. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp16X686041

Sternberg, R. J. (1998). A balance theory of wisdom. Review of General Psychology, 2(4), 347–365.

Totzeck, Christina, Teismann, Tobias, Hofmann, Stefan G, von Brachel, Ruth, Pflug, Verena, Wannemueller, Andre, & Margraf, Juergen. (2020). Loving-Kindness Meditation Promotes Mental Health in University Students. Mindfulness, 11(7), 1623–1631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01375-w