After working with a wide variety of school and being drawn into a wide variety of debates surrounding high-quality teaching, adaption and inclusion, it’s clear that in order for these things to be effective, kindness and empathy play a huge factor.
An evolving concept
When I started my career, kindness and empathy did not always go hand in hand with teachers. Generally, the teachers that fared well, were the ones who could keep order. Pupil progress and happiness seemed secondary to a purposeful working atmosphere. Inclusion wasn’t really a massive thing in the way it is now and my teaching role models were more of an ‘iron rod’ style of teacher.
With a significantly limited understanding of need and the pressure to hold order in class, although I wasn’t unkind, I did not have the skills or the understanding in building those key pupil relationships. With the school I started my career in, I was instead more concerned about my class being quiet when the headmistress walked in…
As I developed my pedagogy, keeping order and relationship building (albeit through trial and error), luckily became second nature and therefore kindness was easier! Empathy and the need to support a variety of learners led me towards SEND as a career path. Thus, allowing me to support the next generation of teachers in supporting inclusion in the classroom.
Inclusion and kindness: the present day
Now I have adult friends with a variety of different needs who had terrible school journeys due to a lack of kindness and adaptive teaching, my empathy levels are even higher. It saddens me that one of my friends has no qualifications and was effectively written off as a teenager despite being a capable, engaging and personable adult. He has many self-taught skills, including a wide-ranging vocabulary and deep scientific and historical knowledge, suggesting to me that it was not his ability to learn that was the issue, just his school’s inability to adapt to his needs.
Currently, our increasingly diverse learners are entitled to and need a significant amount of adaptive teaching. With minute budgets and a staffing crisis, it is not unheard of for teachers to have learners with SEND make up a third or more of their class without extra support.
Some in the profession have limited training and understanding about areas of SEND such as neurodiversity and trauma or are expected to ‘just get on’ with inclusion with limited support. Some schools however (especially Kindness Matters schools!), are supporting both inclusion and kindness brilliantly.
Kindness is everywhere
Adaption often takes effort and it is often the kindest and most empathetic teachers and LSAs that manage this the most effectively, even against all odds. One-to-one LSAs work tirelessly with pupils with high needs who can often be challenging to work with. I take my hat off to these adults. I’m the first to admit that I would be unable to undertake that role in a school.
These adults can clearly see that by putting in that effort, the rewards, however small, will come in the form of improved pupil happiness, self-confidence and in turn success levels.
You would think that kindness would be in short supply in these current working conditions, yet more often than not, kindness still finds a way.
Time and time again, I see acts of kindness within our schools.
- The teacher who gives up their lunchtime to sit with pupils who cannot tolerate the playground.
- The teacher who is always on hand with words of encouragement and spends extra time explaining things to pupils with additional needs.
- The headteacher who gives the child who would otherwise go hungry a sandwich to take home.
Day in and day out, there are thousands of these small acts in our schools and classrooms up and down the country. These small adaptions help make the learning experiences of pupils with additional needs more positive and make school a more tolerable place to be.
Thank you to all adults in schools for your everyday acts of kindness which impact pupils positively. Even if you seemingly get zero thanks and persevere regardless, know that in years to come that pupil will look back at your kindness and patience fondly. You have helped them on their path.
Lynn How
@Positive_Y_Mind
https://www.facebook.com/groups/theswearysenco
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Thank you for your kindness
Your Kindness Coach
John
Check out other great Kindness Matters posts:
- Are We Failing Our Kids, Ourselves, and the Future?
Whichever way you look at it, school life and integrating well into your role as a teacher is all about developing relationships. - My Journey To India
My Journey to India has been a profound experience that has not only challenged my preconceived notions but also led to significant personal growth, inspiring me to embrace vulnerability. - One thing you will never regret is being kind.
When chatting about Pride, one hiccup is that we often link it to grand gestures, enormous achievements, or overcoming colossal adversities. - You Can’t Have Inclusion Without Kindness
In school, you can’t have inclusion without kindness, read on to find out why… - The Boomerang Effect: How Kindness Transforms School Communities
Whichever way you look at it, school life and integrating well into your role as a teacher is all about developing relationships.