By Lauren Bertovich
The holidays have passed and the New Year is upon us. But before the old year concluded, one local schoolteacher decided to end 2019 in a positive way that will hopefully set the tone for what will optimistically be an inspiring new decade.
Brittney Bell teaches fourth grade at Carmichaels Area Elementary School in Greene County, Pa. One day last fall, while spending some time on social media, Bell came across other teachers putting a twist on what we traditionally call an advent calendar. She decided to challenge her students to do the same and what she observed in the process was incredible.
This was the time of year when children are often reminded that Santa Clause is watching and need no motivation to be on their best behavior. As the holidays grew closer and closer, Miss Bell challenged her students to complete a kind gesture or good deed every day in December.
“I was very happy with the way the children responded,” Miss Bell says when asked about the results of the school project. “The moment I entered the classroom, before I even took roll, the students would be probing me to find out what good deed or kind gesture was assigned for the day. They looked forward to it that much,” she adds.
The kind gestures went beyond holding the door for a fellow student and remembering his or her manners. Some days the students made thank you cards for nursing home patients, collected and donated Toys for Tots, and did extra chores for mom and dad without being asked. They even wrote kind letters to someone who had inspired them in their life. Bell recalls one student’s letter of kindness bringing tears to the principal’s eyes. The general atmosphere of the school and morale of the students improved immensely throughout the project. Miss Bell is looking forward to expanding her project next year and is hoping for school wide participation.
It is hard to imagine a world without kindness and any volunteer will agree that there is something special, something immeasurable, in the experience that comes with helping others. Miss Bell is instilling this in her students at a young age in hopes it will carry on throughout the upcoming months and years of their lives. She has seen a difference in how the students interact with one another, how they speak to their peers and superiors, and how they carry themselves day to day. Life can present many challenges and difficulties, especially for young people. How we react dictates the rest and being positive outweighs being negative. Everyone has been in a place when the tough gets tougher, and often all it takes is the smile or help from a friend to make things brighter. Next time you react, react with kindness.
