The old adage, ‘Do onto others…? comes to mind in this sense.
Fourth graders in Lori Blum’s Bailey Lake Elementary class learned more than reading, writing and arithmetic this year. They furthered their education by beginning ‘The Good Deed Program,? with the help of parent Colleen Colby, whose son Tyler is in Blum’s class.
Student Kevin Wieryszko explained, ‘We want to pass on good deeds to other people so they’ll feel good and do good deeds to other people and so on and so on.?
Why are they doing this? Well, Kara West puts it this way, ‘So we can make the world a better place, and not feel lazy.?
Colby, who has implemented good deed programs in other Clarkston classrooms for the past four years, visited Blum’s class on a weekly basis, since February, helping the students develop new attitudes towards others.
The students began by keeping good deed journals and writing completed good deeds on a piece of construction paper, linking it with their peers? deeds to make a chain which now hangs from the room’s ceiling. They even took on a moniker, ‘The Thoughtful Thinkers,? after reading a story in ‘The Goodness Gorillas,? a ‘Chicken Soup? book for little kids, about a boy and his good deed.
They stepped it up and held a bake sale, with treats made from the kitchens of the students? parents, for three days during their lunch. The money they raised, $148, was given to the Clarkston Lighthouse charity organization.
Then they E-mailed soldiers words of encouragement during the war.
They also made sure they kept their eyes open for other opportunities to perform a good deed such as making friends with someone they saw sitting alone at lunch time, so they wouldn’t be lonely; not reciprocating if someone was mean to them on the playground; and simply saying hello and smiling to someone as they’d pass in the hall; and more.
They then shared aloud their good deeds with each other. (Blum and Colby did too.)
Fourth grader West said she was at a pool one day when, ‘Two boys hurt me for no reason. They scratched me. I said I liked their swimsuits. They just stared at me and walked away.?
Throughout, Colby wanted to teach the students responding negatively to something negative is not positive.
‘You feel good you didn’t say anything mean back to them. You feel good even though they were mean,? Andrea Butler said. ‘They feel shocked and you feel like you want to do something good again.?
Colby also taught the kids to do tasks just because it’s a nice thing to do.
‘I held open the door for an old lady with a cane and she said ‘Thank you.? And a girl that was behind me did the same for the lady,? Chelsea Johnson said, noticing how her good deed spread to someone else, like intended.
Overall, the classroom air has changed. The students agree in the beginning of the school year, their classroom had a very different aura.
‘It’s changed. We used to be really mean and tease,? Jeremy Kelley remembers. ‘Now we say ‘good job? even when someone messes up.?
‘It’s a lot better place to be around now that everyone is nicer. We’re seeing the better side of people,? Tyler Colby said.
Blum said there used to be a lot of tattling early in the year. Now the class discusses negativity as a whole to come to a solution.
Colleen Colby hopes teachers, parents and others will learn of The Good Deed Program and implement a similar program in their classrooms, families and such.
‘You feel really good and you want to keep on doing good deeds,? Brianna McVety admitted.
‘I feel happy spreading it around. It makes me feel good. If we continue and it spreads,? Zach Dawes said, ‘the school will be a lot better place.?