They seem to have forgotten we need to give respect to get respect. Sadly, some people don’t appreciate schools teaching kids to treat everyone with respect and kindness, regardless of differences. Goodwin and hope our kids have teachers like her. We all fondly remember kind teachers like Mrs.
If we want others to respect our uniqueness, we need to respect theirs. It takes people with different skills and abilities to build a house or produce a movie, she said. She explained we all have ways in which we’re unique - different backgrounds, beliefs, abilities, behaviors, and interests - and that diversity creates a beautiful mosaic. She called the class together to talk about kindness and respecting people who are different. Goodwin turned it into one of those unplanned teachable moments that pop up in classrooms. The common response would have been to punish those involved, but Mrs. Led by Ethan, they had been picking on him all week and Caleb couldn’t take it anymore. Goodwin, his teacher, rushed across the room to calm him down and find out the reason for the outburst.Ī group of kids had been making fun of Caleb because they thought he behaved oddly. A few years ago, towards the end of a hectic day in the classroom when I was substituting as a one-on-one aide at a school in Concord, a student, Caleb, suddenly began shouting and throwing books and colored pencils.