Compassionate Students...
Some of my favorite moments to witness are those of compassion between students. These moments of care are so pure, jovial, and innocent; they reflect the Father’s heart, the actions of Jesus. I don’t believe these are moments that can be taught, no matter how much consideration and thoughtfulness or social emotional skills we try to teach and instill in our students, it is ultimately up to them whether they choose to step into a compassionate moment because compassion requires action. I think if anything, these moments are Loved into existence. From the overflow of Love a student feels, a compassionate act can be born.
This week, I was having a conversation with a young student who was having a rough day. He had not gotten much sleep and was just having some trouble with regulating his emotions. As I was talking to him trying to help him regulate, I heard one of his classmates quietly ask “Do you need a hug?” It is such a beautiful moment when you see a student recognize one of their friends is having a rough day and offering whatever they can to help. It is even more beautiful when you know that the student who offered the hug was having their own problems regulating earlier, and that the thing that helped them was a hug. That first hug had an outpouring of Love that allowed that student to pass that Love on when they recognized another student in need of it.
While these moments are so beautiful because there is nothing that can be done by us as a school to force these compassionate moments, there are things that we do to encourage them. One of our Unit 0 goals this year was to work on creating an atmosphere in our classrooms called a Brave Space. These Brave Spaces focus on reframing mindsets of classrooms where students understand that learning is a journey and feel confident to be transparent and open up honest learning conversations. There are also our Safe Spaces that I have talked about before, where students can take a second to get themselves regulated. These things help equip our students to recognize when their classmates are having a problem.
The other day I was working with our first grade class and something garnished a snappy response between students. The receiver of the attitude gently responded, “I know you don’t mean that and are just having a rough day, I hope it gets better”. I do not remember ever meeting any first graders that are that measured and controlled and kind in a situation like that. I am proud of the compassion of our students, and am excited to watch it grow with them and encourage more compassion throughout the school. I am excited to see the continued growth of compassionate students in Mighty Oak.
Ethan
NEW PORTLAND Map Shirts Available Now!!!
Our Newest shirt design is out now!!! It features a map of prominent streets with historical and significant buildings in our community. Stop by Porkland to pick yours up today. Or order online HERE
Design features St Cecilia Church, Shaheens, Jane Bros Hardware, The Portland Museum, the old Marine Hospital, and the Portland Community Center.
The Lady Lions Celebrate their Season!!!
The Lady Lion’s finished the final game of their very first season having lost only one game. Great job Lady Lion’s, we are all proud of your growth over this year.
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.