Can kindness be taught? Why should we do it? What is the significance? This is what The New York Times Article had to say about it.
" The Kindness Curriculum is part of a growing global movement to teach emotional intelligence in schools. Advocates of this approach say it’s shortsighted for teachers to focus narrowly on intellectual learning and ignore the cooperative emotional skills that enable learning — and learners — to flourish."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/well/family/kindness-curriculum-preschool.html?utm_source=Center+for+Healthy+Minds&utm_campaign=21f47ee6db-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cce2315563-21f47ee6db-9559139&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_recent_activity_details_shares%3Bp%2BaVoawvRIGIj5ViplaxDA%3D%3D
I'm not sure that kindness can be taught. However, Rita is right. It can be practiced by a instructor and thus serve as an example. What can be taught is politeness. The ability to treat someone decently and with respect. Another important thing that can be taught is empathy. The ability to look at things as others might see them even when the view is very different from your own . If all of our students learned that, the world might be a better place and they would find themselves more effective in whatever career they chose.
Dear Chandana,
Kindness can and should be taught. Teachers should be role models.
Best,
Sadly yes, especially in this ever increasing materialistic world.
There is a long history of research in Developmental Psychology suggesting kindness can be learned. Probably the most well known researcher is Carolyn Zahn-Waxler; she studies empathy in small children, though most of her research is about the role of parenting. There are also many studies going back decades showing altruistic behavior can be learned through conditioning (Rushton & Teachmen, 1978) and social learning (Grusec, Saas-Kortsaak, & Simutis, 1978). It’s beyond the scope of science to make value-judgements, like if we should teach kindness. I’ve seen the kindness curriculum in action at our daughter’s school, and I’m struck by how much kinder her classmates are towards those who are 'different' than I remember from my childhood. Personally, I feel this is a very positive change. Best wishes with your pursuit, Chandana. ~ Kevin
TED Talk by Carolyn Zahn-Waxler: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/video/item/developing_compassion_carolyn_zahn_waxler
Yes, kindness can be taught and needs to be taught because of its advantages. just as the saying goes " do unto others as you want others to do unto you". So if you want some one to be kind to you, then you equally have to learn to be kind. however, even if it can be taught, its adoption takes a lot of time.
All lessons on behavioural patterns such as kindness can be taught. Lessons on kindness is best effective when it is woven as part of the fundamental moral training given to children, though its education is not age specific.
Education on kindness has great potentials in nurturing the beautiful qualities of love, fellow feeling, patriotism and communal living. These great moral instruments are the drivers of peace among people of different cultures and religions. It is the powerful weapon to rid our world off wars and conflicts, the very rude fellows of humanity!
Dickson Adom
I have just incorporated a kindness unit along with a service learning project in my special education classroom. Unfortunately, we have a growing population of students who are not being exposed to social & emotional learning the way previous generations have. Their heads are buried in technology interactions rather than personal interactions. To me, this makes teaching kindness a must. For my students, they are learning about how to be a good person, citizen, employee, neighbor, friend, etc, through both the kindness unit and service learning. Both activities also incorporate academics and transition skills into more real world applications.
Yes, kindness can be taught. One thing we must not forget is that the understanding of kindness is relative. A persons understanding of kindness or how he/she perceives kindness is influenced by his/her environment. For instance, if I leave in an environment where offering water to a stranger is a sign of kindness and I happened to be in another environment that does the opposite, I will be tempted to believe they are not kind but that is their culture. Hence, I conclude that kindness is taught.
Yes. We should!
For a better everything, including a better world.
Best regards.
Hess
Kindness begets kindness. By simply modelling kindness and showing good deeds, educators are providing avenue for learners for some behavior modifications. Literally, kindness can not be taught, but show how to be kind and learnes have more chances adopting kindness... Unruly behavior at times is rooted on negative experiences and unless such negative experiences are not unresolved, negative behavior will always come out.
I'm not sure that kindness can be taught. However, Rita is right. It can be practiced by a instructor and thus serve as an example. What can be taught is politeness. The ability to treat someone decently and with respect. Another important thing that can be taught is empathy. The ability to look at things as others might see them even when the view is very different from your own . If all of our students learned that, the world might be a better place and they would find themselves more effective in whatever career they chose.
From a psychological point of view kindness can be taught. According to the imitation principle the kids are bound to copy behavior which is good or bad from the significant others. On the other side of the coin it can be innate. A very good example can be that of the kid of a pastor who can be very rebellious or of a teacher who might be teaching some good morals to the students and surprisingly can be summoned for to attend the hearing of his / her own son accused of stealing or bulling others
Kindness is a habit. Habits can be learned and/or inherited from society and/or parents/guardians respectively. In my opinion kindness goes along with respect.
Most of these answers agree it should be taught, and that it can also be learnt. I like Godfrey's consideration of kindness being a bedfellow of respect. This lead me to question then whether there were other feelings, behaviours, habits (please choose your own interpretation) etc. that precede one's understanding or capability of learning kindness. For example, is empathy a pre-requisite?
I agree with the above mentioned answers that kindness could and should be taught. 'educating the head without educating the heart is no education at all'.
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