Teaching Kindness Through Innovative School Program

Red Wing, Minnesota — The U.S. invests hundreds of billions annually in teaching children essential skills like reading, writing, and math. However, kindness is often overlooked. In some areas, this is changing through a program dedicated to teaching kindness.

Kindness 101 is a unique initiative utilizing stories from CBS News’ ‘On the Road’ series to impart lessons in kindness and character. These stories are accompanied by lesson plans crafted by ‘Character Counts!’, a nonprofit at Iowa’s Drake University.

“So the idea that we could develop curricular resources around these stories that elevate the best of our country…and we’re going to do all this so that educators don’t have to pay to get them,” said Scott Raecker, executive director of Character Counts!

One of the joys of working in this field is seeing the immediate impact in classrooms. A visit to Neil Lahammer’s third-grade class at Burnside Elementary in Red Wing, Minnesota, exemplifies this joy. Lahammer is among over 100,000 educators who have incorporated Kindness 101 into their teaching.

The lessons are designed to be easily accessible to any teacher through Kindess101.com. They aim to inspire millions of children globally to embrace kindness and develop character.

Neil Lahammer explains the impact: “When I see the students duplicating what they’re seeing in the videos… as a teacher, that’s gold.” This sentiment is echoed by his students. One remarked: “Just makes me want to be a better person.”

The positive influence of Lahammer’s class extends through the Kindness Club he established. Students forgo their recess weekly to organize activities like food and glove drives, promoting kindness throughout the school. “It’s just amazing the way these kids want to help out others,” Lahammer shared.

Lahammer also mentors fellow teachers on maximizing the curriculum’s impact, aiming to foster a widespread culture of kindness. His efforts earned him the title of the first-ever Kindness 101 National Teacher of the Year, an honor celebrated in April at a Des Moines gala, which will now become an annual event.

“He makes me smarter and he makes me happier,” one student shared, describing Lahammer as integral to their school experience.