| Random Acts of Kindness
Building Character One Deed at a Time |
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| Help someone pick up
dropped papers
Hold the door for a person you do not know Start a conversation with a lonely person Share something you have with others Perform a Random Act of Kindness |
Parents and
teachers both have a role to play in encouraging young people to perform
random acts of kindness. Parents are in an ideal position to reinforce
positive character actions by their children. Schools play an important
part in teaching good character, but they are ultimately secondary to
parents. When parents see their child display good character immediate
positive feedback should be offered to reinforce the behavior. The most
important thing to a child is their parent's approval and attention;
give both generously when your child displays positive character and
they will seek to show good character on a regular basis.
Teachers can have a more formal way of rewarding positive student behavior. When a teacher sees a student displaying positive character, they might give the student a good character citation. Each school could sponsor a student Character Counts Club. This will habituate younger students to display positive character. By reinforcing positive character development when a child is young, that child will be better able to deal with temptations, in a mature manner, when he or she is older. If there is not an institutional plan for rewarding good character, teachers should develop their own system to praise students for showing good character. When a student misbehaves the teacher gives the child attention in the form of discipline, when a child shows good character he or she should receive attention in the form of praise. Random acts of kindness encourage people to recognize the inherent value of other people. Learning to value yourself and others is the first step to becoming a person of outstanding character. |