The Positive Psychology of Kindness
How does this happen? Why does this happen? The complex biomechanics of the brain is the answer. The brain is the source of our entire affective, cognitive, and conative life. The brain is the parent of all our happy tears, worst decisions, and kind acts. The brain is the source of the kindness we extend and the kindness we receive. All of our behavior is brain-based and when mirror neurons are firing without jamming their message of empathy, kind thoughts, words, and deeds ensue.
The neuroscience and social science research is clear: kindness changes the brain by the experience of kindness. Children and adolescents do not learn kindness by only thinking about it and talking about it. Kindness best learned by feeling it so that they can reproduce it. Kindness is an emotion that students feel and empathy is a strength that they share.
Teachers foster kindness in their classroom by teaching empathy - the second cousin of kindness. Teachers develop experiences that get student’s mirror neurons firing in empathy for others demonstrated by kindness towards others. There are many classroom experiences that offer an opportunity to teach the natural empathetic connections that nurture kindness.
Notice Kindness - Identify the feeling whenever you observe it. “You must feel kindness toward your friend because you were patient waiting for her to finish.”
Chart Kindness - Instead of putting student names on the board for not paying attention or not finishing homework, make a list on the smart board of students who show kindness toward others. Vote ote for the kindest student and put that name on the board, too!
Kindness Projects – There are many web-based kindness projects. The Kindness Project that can also teach geography tracks kindness tokens distributed all over the world when kind acts are performed.
Teach Empathetic Tolerance – Tolerance for others requires that students build the neuroscience connections that enable them to feel kindly toward others. To teach tolerance is to teach the empathy that begets feelings of kindness. One of the best sources of lessons to teach empathy that enables tolerance is the Teaching Tolerance website.
Find a way to teach kindness today and every day.