What if one of the most important things we could teach our children isn't found in a textbook?
I've been writing about kindness, compassion, empathy, and the importance of raising good humans for a long time now. And the older I get, the more convinced I become that these are not simply nice qualities to have. They are essential life skills.
This article is about why I believe that Tolerance, Empathy, Acceptance, Compassion, and Helping Others should be part of every child's education. As a mom, I've always believed that one of our greatest responsibilities isn't simply raising successful children. It's raising good human beings.
Children who understand kindness. Who show compassion and respect differences. Who recognize that their words and actions can have a lasting impact on someone else's life.
I've written about these things for years, but after the tragedy our Parkland community experienced on February 14, 2018, these questions became even more personal.
How do we raise children who are not only academically prepared for the world but emotionally prepared to live in it?
And perhaps more importantly, "Are we spending enough time teaching them the things that truly matter?"
Recently, I came across something about Denmark's approach to education that really resonated with me. For years, Danish schools have incorporated something called Klassens tid, or "The Class's Hour," where students have opportunities to talk openly, discuss problems, listen to one another, and work together toward solutions.
Imagine that! Making time during the school day to teach children how to understand and care about one another. What a concept! ☺️
And it got me thinking about something, which I've believed for a very long time. The impact of teaching empathy could reach far beyond the classroom. It also got me asking, "What if we made kindness part of the curriculum?" Hence, what we T.E.A.C.H. matters more than ever, not only from an academic perspective but from an emotional standpoint as well.
What if we could help children by:
- Teaching them to respect others, even when their beliefs, backgrounds, or experiences differ from their our own.
- Learning to put themselves in someone else's shoes and consider how their words and actions affect others.
- Understanding that we don't all have to look alike, think alike, or live alike to deserve dignity and respect.
- Recognizing when someone is struggling and responding with care rather than judgment.
- Understanding that kindness is more than a feeling. It's something we put into action.
🧠 Why Middle School Matters So Much
❤️ We Cannot Expect Schools to Do It Alone
🌎 What Denmark Can Teach Us
🌻 Imagine the Ripple Effect
💛 It Starts with What We T.E.A.C.H.
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| Downloadable T.E.A.C.H. image |
For me, this subject is deeply personal. As I mentioned before, on February 14, 2018, our community in Parkland, Florida, experienced an unimaginable tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Seventeen beautiful lives were taken, families were forever changed, and an entire community was left trying to make sense of something that should never have happened.
As a mother whose family and community were directly affected by that day, I have spent years asking myself some very difficult questions:
- At what point does a child become so angry, disconnected, or resentful that violence begins to seem like an answer?
- How does someone reach a point where they can no longer recognize the humanity in another person?
- Why do some people seem to lack even the most basic kindness or compassion toward others?
And maybe most importantly: What can we do differently, long before a child reaches that point?
I don't pretend to have all the answers. I also understand that violence is complicated. There is no single explanation, no one-size-fits-all solution, and certainly no guarantee that teaching empathy will prevent every tragedy. But I cannot help believing that we need to put much greater emphasis on how we teach our children to understand themselves, manage their emotions, respect differences, and treat other human beings, because something needs to change.
I recently created a classroom poster centered around a simple acronym:
T — Tolerance
E — Empathy
A — Acceptance
C — Compassion
H — Helping Others
Five simple principles. Five lessons that could make an enormous difference in how children interact with one another and eventually how they navigate the world as adults.
And no, I don't believe these lessons should be limited to a colorful poster hanging on a classroom wall.
I believe they should be practiced, reinforced, and incorporated into education throughout childhood.
Personally, I believe children should begin learning these principles at a very young age, with age-appropriate lessons continuing throughout their school years. But I would place an even greater emphasis on social-emotional education beginning in middle school.
Think about what happens during those years. Children are navigating puberty, friendships, insecurities, social pressures, identity, rejection, and the overwhelming desire to belong.
Add social media, cyberbullying, constant comparisons, and the pressure to appear perfect, popular, or tough.
That's a lot for a developing mind to process. And while these challenges affect both boys and girls, I am particularly concerned about how we support boys who may be struggling with anger, loneliness, rejection, or emotional isolation.
Too often, boys grow up receiving messages that vulnerability is weakness, that expressing sadness is somehow unacceptable, or that anger is the only emotion they can safely show.
We need to change that narrative.
Teaching boys that it's okay to feel, to ask for help, to show compassion, and to express emotions in healthy ways isn't making them weaker. It's helping them become emotionally healthier human beings.
The same goes for girls. We need to teach all children that kindness is not weakness, disagreements don't require cruelty, and being different doesn't make someone less deserving of respect.
Imagine if middle school students had dedicated time every week to discuss conflict, emotional regulation, bullying, friendship, healthy communication, and empathy.
Not as punishment. Not because someone did something wrong. But simply because these are important skills every human being should learn.
Now, before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I'm suggesting schools should be responsible for raising our children, let me be clear. Kindness begins at home.
Children learn by watching us. They notice how we speak about people who disagree with us. They see how we treat strangers, service workers, family members, and people who may be different from us. Even when we think they aren't listening, they hear our conversations and they observe our reactions.
And whether we realize it or not, they are absorbing lessons about how the world works and how people should be treated.
We cannot tell children to be kind while constantly modeling cruelty, intolerance, or disrespect. And we certainly cannot expect teachers to undo years of harmful behavior with one weekly lesson.
Parents, educators, families, and communities all have a role to play. But wouldn't it be wonderful if we were all reinforcing the same basic message?
You don't have to agree with someone to treat them with dignity.
Denmark's approach to classroom community and emotional development is something I believe deserves more attention.
Their educational traditions include creating opportunities for students to discuss problems, understand different perspectives, and strengthen relationships within the classroom.
Does that mean Denmark has eliminated bullying or violence? Of course not. No country has, but I appreciate the philosophy behind making emotional and social development a meaningful part of education rather than treating it as an afterthought, because academic intelligence and emotional intelligence are not the same thing.
A child can excel in mathematics, memorize historical dates, and earn straight A's while still struggling to manage anger, resolve conflict, or show compassion. And while academic achievement is important, shouldn't we care just as much about the kind of human being that child is becoming? I certainly do.
Imagine a generation of children growing up understanding that differences are not threats. That compassion is strength and that asking for help is courageous. That words can hurt, but they can also heal. That disagreements don't have to turn into hatred. That every person deserves to feel seen, heard, and valued.
Imagine the impact on friendships, families, workplaces, relationships, and entire communities.
Would teaching empathy solve every problem in society?
Absolutely not, but could it help us raise more compassionate, emotionally aware, and respectful human beings? I believe it could.
And isn't that worth making time for? As parents, grandparents, educators, and members of our communities, we spend so much time worrying about what kind of world we're leaving our children.
Maybe we should spend just as much time thinking about what kind of children we're preparing to send into the world, because the lessons we teach today don't stay in the classroom.
They follow our children into their friendships, their relationships, their careers, and eventually into the families and communities they help create.
That's why I created my T.E.A.C.H. Kindness poster and companion Kindness Challenge.
Not because I believe a poster will change the world, but because I believe small reminders, meaningful conversations, and consistent acts of kindness can help change the way we treat one another.
And sometimes, meaningful change begins with something as simple as teaching a child to consider how someone else feels.
Tolerance. Empathy. Acceptance. Compassion. Helping Others.
Five little words. One very important message. Our job as parents isn't just to prepare our children for the world. It's also to prepare them to make that world a little kinder.
Let's not just teach our children how to make a living. Let's teach them how to live alongside one another, because raising intelligent children is important. But raising kind, compassionate, emotionally healthy human beings?
That might just be one of the greatest lessons we could ever T.E.A.C.H. ❤️
With love, hope, and a whole lot of faith in the next generation.
XOXO, Lissette
BONUS: Probiotic — for Gut Health.
