The Most Important Lessons in School

The Dalai Lama (Photo from Pixabay)

One of the first pieces of advice I offer new teachers is never to lose focus on the universal lessons they want their students to learn. The primary role of educators is to teach academics, but that shouldn’t be a teacher’s sole concern. While gaining the ability to read, write, do math, and learn to be a critical thinker are crucial to students, equally important are the non-academic lessons.

If any educator is going to connect with their students, children must know that their teacher cares about them as people. How do we do that? By simply being human. I recommend pushing that math lesson aside for a few minutes when a student is hurting emotionally. Let them talk, cry, give them a pat on the back, high five, fist bump, or yes, even a hug when needed. Making time for students is worth it in the long run. As educator Rita Pearson says, “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.”

A happy classroom (Photo from Pixabay)

Something that can seem minor to us at the time can be enormous to a child. I used to treasure visits from past students when they’d return to school years later. Besides always laughing at the chairs and wondering how they ever managed to sit in such tiny seats, they’d often share memories of being in my class. Many of these things I remembered, but some I did not. I once got a letter from a high school student who wrote about a time when she felt lonely and left out, and I made the time to find her a playground pal. She remembered what I saw as a minor act of kindness even though seven years had passed.

I’d like to see schools focus more on character education in the classroom. Character education is “the teaching of values or virtues that we use every day to make decisions.” Many of our students are taught skills like kindness, empathy, generosity, honesty, compassion, and perseverance in their homes, but these are foreign concepts for some. Can children learn these values in school? Absolutely! If you haven’t seen this clip from Steve Hartman’s “On the Road” series, please watch. It’s heartwarming and touching. Teachers like Derek Brown get it—kids do best when they feel accepted, loved, and part of a team.

The best way to promote character education in a classroom is for the teacher to demonstrate these qualities. Talking about these things is not enough; good teachers must lead by example. Kids constantly learn from parents and teachers, even when we’re not teaching designated lessons. What teacher hasn’t had the experience of technology failing at the most critical time? How do we handle that? Do we get angry, frustrated, and curt with others, or do we problem-solve, show perseverance, and remain cool?    

Photo from Pixabay

Take the time to point out examples of good character choices when students make them. For example, let’s say a student shared they were sad about an ailing pet, and a friend cheered them up by playing with them and making them laugh. What a perfect opportunity to reinforce empathy by sharing this story with your class! Not only will most children enjoy the public praise, but the other students will learn that we value this attribute.

Photo from Pixabay

I taught elementary school-age children (grades 2-6). I started a group called The Friendship Club in my classes. When children saw other kids doing random acts of kindness, I encouraged them to grab a designated note and write about it. After they’d cleaned up at the end of the day, I often shared these anecdotes. Now, two people felt great—the subject of the note and the writer. Each time I shared these notes in class, the result was the same. More children would share because they witnessed the impact. The pay-it-forward model of kindness works.

You can imagine the power of this note: “I was feeling sad at recess because I had no one to play with. Then, Julie saw me alone and invited me to play four-square.” I couldn’t design a better lesson on inclusiveness.

Literature is one of my favorite ways to reinforce universal values. A simple Google search under “books about honesty” or any other specific quality will point us in the right direction to support that attribute.

Role-playing, especially for older upper elementary kids, is an idea I embrace. Asking kids to make up and perform skits regarding compassion or other character education qualities is a successful technique. Even many shy kids will take part in such a scenario.

Reading, writing, math, social studies, science, art, physical education, and music are all essential subjects in school, but let’s make time for character education too.

Photo from Pixabay