It was my sister Sherry who came up with the idea. She suggested that I could use the huge jar of marbles that she had kept in her 4th grade classroom to make a jar filled with acts of kindness. Once she had done the very same thing, teaching one of those "life lessons" that are among my favorite to use. I had been visiting with her about the fact that occasionally we all need reminders of kindness, especially when the days seem long and stressful. After she told me about the marble jar, I figured I'd give it a try.
So I did.
About a week or so ago, I told the kids that we were going to look for acts of kindness as they happened around us in our classroom as well as any other place that we might be at during the school day. I didn't give them any further directions, just to look for things that made them feel like a kindness had been shown to them. I left it at that.
It didn't take long.
"Someone helped me up when I fell on the playground at noon today."
"Did you hear that Mrs. Renfro? She said 'thank you' when you gave her that."
"Oh, Mrs. Renfro you just did an act of kindness when you told us we could have a do-over on Monday on that test if we needed to."
"I was in the lunchroom today and I was having trouble getting my yogurt opened up and he helped me do it."
"Mrs. Renfro just did an act of kindness when she told us not to worry about her vase getting broken. She told us that we were worth much more to her than any old vase."
"I noticed someone standing and holding the door open for all the kids at recess today Mrs. Renfro. She didn't even have to do that, but she did."
"I just had an act of kindness done for me. He saw I didn't have a pencil and made sure that I used one of his."
And it went on, and on, and on.
The jar is getting quite full now and the kids realized it earlier this afternoon. Oh my goodness, you can't imagine how many acts of sincere kindness were displayed and noticed. I could hardly teach my math lesson for being stopped to hear a report of one more benevolent act being done. It warmed my heart to hear it. The jar had done what I had hoped it would.
The kids wanted to know how full that Mason jar had to be before I would say that they were through filling it up. Today I determined that they would need it to be filled so full that I could not put a lid on it and tighten it shut. Trust me when I tell you that it won't take them long tomorrow. They know that a treat is coming their way when that last and final marble is dropped in.
With all the ugliness in the world right now, it's wonderful to remember to be kind. You never know what type of a day another person may be having. It might be an "ok" day but it has the potential to be one that is not ok. How far would a little kindness go to make a difference? What would it hurt to try?
I want my students to be able to be kind, not because they can drop a marble in a jar and reap the rewards once it is full, but rather I want them to learn to be kind for one reason only. They need to learn to perform random acts of kindness simply because of one thing.
It is the right thing to do.
We are working hard every single day at school to prepare ourselves to be proficient enough to pass on to the 4th grade next year. It is our goal to score exemplary when we take the Oklahoma state assessments in the spring. We read all the time, work math until we dream of the numbers in our sleep, and write of all the experiences that we have encountered in a very short time on this place called "planet Earth". I have tried to teach them so much already and in the weeks to come there will be even more ahead of them to learn. It's a daunting task for all concerned.
By year's end, I hope I will have guided them to be the best of readers and mathematicians. My desire is to give them the ability to communicate through their writing skills and to develop a sincere love of doing it. Yet even in all of that, I still maintain that the best lessons I can teach them are the lessons of life. You can be the smartest man or woman on Earth, but if you don't know how to be kind to others, how gifted you are really doesn't matter anyways.
There's nothing like the sound of a marble clinking in a glass jar. "The 19" and I are learning together. I hope they will remember these special lessons in the years that lie ahead. I am older now and sadly the chances are good that I won't be around when they have children of their own. Yet, it's ok because I'm doing everything I can for them while I am still here. They may not recall what I taught them about finding the main idea in a passage or what the author's purpose really was in writing a story. They may never consider doing 50 addition or subtraction facts in 2 minutes or less as they enter college. I hope they do remember one very important thing.
I hope they remember how much a teacher named Mrs. Renfro loved them and the year we spent together in a little place on the Oklahoma prairie.
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