« Big Box Facts | Home | Musical Uncle Santa Snowglobe »
Kindness
By Kate | November 30, 2007
I have created a new category of Kindness on this blog. I tend to rant on the blog and only have ideas about what to write when I am angry. I hope to fill this new category with kind acts of others.Today I went to a meeting at an elementary school where some of Neil’s newly arrived Somali children attend. A teacher told me that all the children have jumped in to be their friends and help them adjust. Even though one little 2nd grade Somali boy only knows the words Yes and No the kids invite him to play soccer every recess. They watch over the Somali kids and guide them around.What a great selfless act by these little people on the West side.
November 30th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
How wonderful it is to learn from the example of little chilren!
The scriptural phrase “and a little child shall lead them ” comes to mind!
December 1st, 2007 at 2:35 am
I have learned from my kids on this score, because if I ever was this way it is hard to remember. Drake told me about a severely autistic boy at his school and he was feeling really sad for him. He felt bad that he was preparing for a normal life and he could see that the school was trying to make sure that this kid could achieve some kind of basic functioning so while Drake was in math or whatever they would try to teach this kid things like how to have a bank account and go to the store.
I told Drake that at least they do things like this these days, probably when I was a kid they kept people like this in institutions, but he still had a hard time with it. So one day I told him that if he was feeling sad that something that would make him feel better would be to do something to help. As an adult, of course I have all the answers–in theory.
I didn’t hear much about it until he happened to mention that he had been having this kid eat lunch with him. And he didn’t just ‘let’ him sit with him and his friends. It is quite a production, because the kid actually doesn’t really remember Drake from day to day. Drake has to go over to him and convince him to sit with him and his friends every day so he won’t be alone and helpless looking, not knowing what is going on.
I had no idea that Drake would implement my suggestion at all, and the fact that he was willing to sacrifice potential ‘coolness’ at such a fragile age, when it couldn’t possibly be doing him any favors socially to do this, was very touching.
I was very proud that without prompting from me my child actually goes above beyond it to try to think of how to make the world a better place. I think that some of his age mates are only taught tolerance and acceptance if anything at all as a value system but Drake was the one to act. He has all kinds of religious and ethical instruction heaped on him and still wants to do more, while other kids are already learning to look the other way.
He has a tremendously tender heart that has room for everyone. I fully expect that one day I will depend on his kindness myself.
In my studies and from experience it is apparent that not all children are kind by nature. My professor said a few months ago that even social constructionists, true believers in uncorrupted humanity, are increasingly having to admit that there are simply some bad seeds. Some kids can be cruel to each other and remain so, even before they learn from examples and after they are taught differently, but others are also resillient enough to survive that cruelty and decide to set their own course if they choose. It is almost like a new opportunity for the world to be a different place every generation.
December 1st, 2007 at 2:46 am
Kate, I was initially intending Drake’s story to be an example of a kind act that came to my mind like you seemed to e wanting, sorry if it got buried in the polemic. I think blogging brings that out in all of us, being the anonymous and unregulated form of expression that it is. Kind of like road rage with more than just the few basic ’signals.’
December 4th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
DRAKE MORGAN IS AWESOME!!!!
And yes, I do know about “bad” (a.k.a. narcissistic) seeds, in my line of work.