Recently, I was talking to one of my teachers, Michelle Orth, whom some of us affectionately call “Coach,” about the holidays. She talked about how our youths need to exude more happiness and joy.
Educators know well that for some of our youths, the holiday season is not always a happy or festive time. For some, money and food are not readily available. As Christmas break approaches, school is out for at least two weeks. That means some students may not get meals, a warm place to live, or simply a constant adult presence that assures them that they are cared for and loved.
People don’t necessarily think about what students experience outside of school during the holidays that we revere and can’t wait to celebrate. Fortunately, educators do. We see the frowns and the looks of disappointment on the faces of some of our students at this time of year. In the teachers lounge, educators share stories about students who may have experienced trauma and who may not have a stable home life. These moments of sharing allow us to provide support and comfort to those who must provide that same support to the most vulnerable among us — our children.
To help bring joy to her students while promoting a sense of family and community, one teacher started an event called 15 Days of Kindness. The days leading up to the holidays, her students write down something kind a fellow classmate has done in school, including in her classroom. She involves parents by asking them to write down something kind their child did at home and sharing it with her and fellow teacher Courtney Beemsterboer. They expand to the community by having their students write words of thanks, appreciation and gratitude to local service providers, including our cherished police officers and fire department personnel. They also include a senior citizen’s home to remind the residents that they, too, are loved and valued. The students then personally deliver them to these providers.
What an inspiration — the message that says, “We all matter.”
I wonder what our society would be like if this approach were expanded to every classroom and school throughout the country. Would suicide still be the second leading cause of death for youths 10 to 14 years old? Would 40% of high school students still feel sad or hopeless, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports? Would more than 20% of our youths 12 to 17 years old report experiencing symptoms of anxiety over the last two weeks?
American poet and memoirist Maya Angelou once said, “There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.”
Our youths have grown far too frustrated with us adults. From wars that won’t end to empty promises adults have made about making the world a better place, a world where political division prohibits us from finding common ground, far too many of our youths feel hopeless or less secure about their future.
This holiday season, let’s set the standard. Let’s be role models and believers in a more auspicious future for our youths. It starts first with having them take part in our society and taking note of the good.
It can start first with 15 Days of Kindness, but let’s expand it beyond that. Our youths are asking for our help. They ask for it through bouts with depression and anxiety. They are expressing their discontent and their longing for better days. We can chart a new course this holiday season by asking them to see the good in their lives, their community and their hearts.
It is incumbent upon us adults to provide the conditions that allow our youths to see the good in our society.
Coach Orth and others like her, we celebrate their willingness to lead by example. Perhaps we all can do the same this holiday season, so all our youths can experience joy and not loathe this time of year.
Jerald McNair, who has a doctorate in education and a graduate degree in public policy, is a school administrator for South Holland School District 151.
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