I got a new hoodie.
It says ‘be kind’ on the front of it.
That’s one of the themes in my classroom every year.
It’s one of the themes in my writing, too.
What does it mean to be kind?
What is kindness?
I saw it one morning.
One of my students trudged into the room with the hood of his hoodie covering his head.
There were big tears on his cheeks.
Usually, he greeted me at the door with a fist bump, a hug, a smile and a, “What’s up Mr. B.” (This happened pre-COVID 19. I’m looking forward to greeting students this way again!)
That day, not so much.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Do you need to talk?
Is there anything I can do to help you?”
He shook his head and sat down to his morning work in complete and utter silence.
Many things can lay heavy on the heart of a child.
(I would learn later that he broke his glasses on the way to school.)
One of my favorite novels is The Power of One by a South African writer named Bryce Courtenay.
(The movie based on the book is good, too. Morgan Freeman stars in it.)
The main character is P.K.
The story follows his life as a white person who believes in racial equality in the Apartheid era of South Africa.
Because of this belief, there are many tough times for P.K.
The metaphor he uses for those tough times is a loneliness bird and giant stone eggs.
“The loneliness birds came and laid giant stone eggs in my heart,” he’ll say, readers can feel them as if they are their own.
My student had those giant stone eggs from the loneliness birds in his heart.
As I pondered these things, I noticed that students were walking over to the table of their friend and patting him on the shoulder and wrapping him in hugs.
“What’s the matter?” they asked over and over again.
What they were saying was, “I’m here.
For you.
I’m here.”
They were being kind.
They were living kindness.
That kind of kindness is gentle enough to wipe away the tears of the heart and strong enough to move the giant stone eggs of the loneliness birds.
All in a day in public school.
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