5 Minute GAP - What's the value of kindness in schools?
Liz talks to Binah about some of the projects that she has been running in schools to support and nurture children's compassionate values, and what impact that can have on them for the future.
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Audio only version:
If you prefer to read rather than watch, the transcription is here:
Binah: Do you have any particular projects that stand out to you as being sort of, I guess, either students doing something that was, I don't know, particularly impactful or even just the simple things that were really effective within their school?
Liz: D'you know, there's so many projects that I feel like that because you'd go in and you'd sort of, once they understood what the projects were about and they realised that it was all going to be that those students leading it and that they could choose. They just had such an emotional reaction, I think, to so many topics such as the war in Ukraine and a lot of the students found were really wanted to work with some of the homelessness that's in Manchester and the food banks. And you know, and these are a lot of children coming from very deprived backgrounds, often in poverty themselves. But, you know, how much they cared was just stunning, really.
So, for example, one of the schools they'd been watching the Newsround show about the Ukraine and they really wanted to just try and help the refugees. So they decided to not set their goals just on fundraising, but they wanted... so they set up a fundraising page, but they really wanted to do something impactful within the school as well. So they decided to walk the distance from Manchester to the Ukraine, which is 1830 miles. And at the start,
I think there was a slight gasp of horror from everybody involved, thinking, that's quite a long way to walk, isn't it? But, you know, they did it and they set about it.
They went every day. And it had such an impact on not only the students involved in the class because they were getting that time to go out.
But I think just the fact that this very small task had such a bigger meaning for them as well, and they really felt like they were doing something to help other people. And the actual walking itself gave them that time to reflect on what they were doing, which I think is a really important part of these projects as well. They were really keen to spread this message. So along with virtually all the projects they did, they wanted to get up and stand up in assemblies. And that's often, often young people who are not very keen normally to put their hand up and raise their voice about an issue, but they'd go off, they'd do the research, they'd come back, they'd have an assembly, they'd stand up, they'd tell everybody and you could just sense that pride in them, that they'd gone and told people about this issue.
And then you'd walk through the school and there'd be the younger children there who'd be like "are you coming to work with us next?" because they'd obviously seen what we've been going on in the classes and wanted to get involved as well. So I think they were really having setting examples of really good role models as well with the work they were doing.
And going back to the Ukraine walk, they did then get the whole school with parents and the community involved by doing a colour run at the end of it, which again was just it was like a joyous celebration with music and everyone running around throwing paint and just having a really, really good time. But with that collective goal that they've achieved all together, and I think that's something that they will remember from their time at that primary school and hopefully into the future, that actually from that small idea, they've made a huge, huge change. And they raised a lot of money from it as well. So again, that was really good for those children to see.
I think one of the other projects that worked on recently that was a really small idea that was sparked about kindness within the school because there have been some children being quite upset at lunch time and the classes often having difficulties. They'd come in and they spend the first ten, 15 minutes sorting out arguments and stuff. And one of them said they wanted to do something about kindness and respect in the school. So that's what we set up the project and it might have seemed relatively small, but the amount of time that they devoted and to thinking about it and what they could do and they wanted to become these role models these year four students. And again, it had a really big impact around the school because everyone was out chalking kind messages, sending notes to people that with kindness and they stood up in assembly and again set examples role, but they were demonstrated what they need to do to be kind. So from a relatively small idea, I think hopefully that will have some sustainability within the school as well.
Binah: I think it was really interesting as well when we did some filming in that school with the that did the Ukraine run and getting young people to sort of... well not even getting them to, them just really being really forthcoming about reflecting on what it meant to them. And as you say, not just about what they were doing, but how it sort of made them feel and the amount of time that it gave them within the school week to have a space to think and to sort of reflect on their cares and values, was really exciting and a really lovely output of all these projects actually that the main point was great to raise awareness itself and to do whatever young people want to do that projects, but also that, like you say, it'll stay with them for years to come and be hopefully a sort of inspiring thing that they can hopefully replicate or take into their life in whatever way they they they choose.