EdWeb

Changing a school or school system begins at the top. Without modeling changed behavior it is difficult to ask others to change. Changing a school culture takes awareness, persistence, immersion, and support from the community. Cultivating kindness needs to happen in the classroom but also online. Implementing Character Counts is a great way to start. Character Counts teaches students about respect, responsibility, and caring for others. Physical kindness is not enough in today's world. Digital kindness must be implemented. Digital Citizenship curriculum can be added to grade levels K-12 to promote responsible citizenship online.

• February is kindness month in certain school districts. Implementing a nationwide kindness month would help and benefit children throughout the country. Many age-leveled projects can be implanted to promote positive interaction while benefitting the community. 
• Traditional curriculum may not be sufficient as it has been in the past. Digital curriculum should be added to promote positive online behavior and teach students of the consequences of negative online behavior.
• Promoting both physical and digital acts of kindness will encourage to have this type of behavior when no-one is looking. Posting acts on kindness on Google Classroom is one way to do this.

Character Counts is something I would like to implement in my classroom. Starting the year off with this will help students know the expectations for the rest of the year. Doing activities and having rewards for a positive character is something students should be recognized for. School wide projects are something I would like to see. These projects would not only promote student interaction but also benefit the community. Learning how to work together in person will promote positive interaction online. Keeping myself and students up to date can also encourage positive online behavior and the risk of negative behavior.

Cultivating Kindness: A Foundation for Digital Citizenship