REBkind – Tamara Letter

Texas Kindness: Character Strong

April 30, 2019June 11, 2019 Tamara

What does it mean to be “Character Strong?”

I have pondered this question, allowing it to swirl a bit in my mind, ever since I returned from my visit to Houston, Texas in March. During that trip, I was graciously allowed to tag along with Barbara Gruener as she and other kindness cultivators around the U.S. gathered to learn more about the Character Strong program, honing their skills as presenters and advocates for kindness.

Houston Kraft inspired us throughout the training day.

Character.

Strong.

Driving back from the training, there were visual reminders of the strength of this community of Friendswood, that was underwater just 18 months before. Abandoned houses juxtaposed with boarded up buildings and Do Not Enter signs were in stark contrast to blooming flowers and thriving neighborhoods just a few streets away.

A home that was underwater during Hurricane Harvey, now stands abandoned.

An entire neighborhood is now abandoned, a casualty of the hurricane destruction.

This is a community who embodies the spirit of strong character. As we drove, Barbara shared story after story of resilience and perseverance that carried them not only through the horrific weeks of unprecedented flooding 6-10 feet high, but continued for months thereafter.

Strangers rushed in to rescue friends and loved ones from nursing homes, now boarded up and vacant from the storm. Neighbors checked in on one another, doing whatever it took to help each other rebuild, restore, renew.

Residents of the Friendswood Health Care Center were rescued on school buses and taken to the local high school during the crisis.

I find in times of unspeakable tragedy, such as the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, that the character of others rises and soars. Strength and compassion shine brightest on the darkest days, and we are reminded of the good in the world.

The American flag still flies strong in Friendswood, even despite the desolation.

To see more photos of the floodwaters caused by Hurricane Harvey visit http://bit.ly/harveyphotos17.

Later that afternoon, Barbara brought me to Lake Friendswood Park and we walked the path along the lake as her husband and son went fishing in kayaks.

The lake was a perfect place to ponder and reflect.

The calm water and beautiful blue skies reminded me of the phrase Jet Stream Jax shares in his Kind Coins video:

“If raindrops can create a flood, people can create a jet stream of kindness.”
~Jet stream jax
A Passion for kindness, p. 36

I believe that’s what makes people of strong character: when they put their differences aside, embrace the humanity of which we all share, and continue to create ways to inspire and uplift others.

Maybe your kindness is a smile for the daycare teacher who is holding your child at the end of a long work day. Perhaps your kindness is surprising a stranger with a meal paid-in-full at a local restaurant. Your kindness may be driving past a front row parking space near the mall so someone else can have that joy, or maybe you take a few moments of your day to text your mom to say, “Hi.”

Whatever you are doing to remind people they matter, keep rocking it out. Don’t stop. We shouldn’t need a tragedy to bring us together, but it’s nice to know that in the moments of deepest despair, there is light.

There is love.

There is hope.

A special thanks to Barbara Gruener and her family for hosting the first of my R.E.B. trips to cultivate kindness for global impact. I knew she would be the perfect person to receive Gini Bonnell’s “Be Kind” sign, a reminder that the world really can be changed by the kindness of one.

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education, kindness, REBkind, travel

Texas Kindness: Jet Stream Jax

April 20, 2019June 11, 2019 Tamara

The third visit in our Texas Kindness Tour was meeting a very special student named Jet Stream Jax. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may recognize his name from my Remixing Relevance post in October 2017 where I shared about his community of Friendswood, Texas receiving catastrophic damage from Hurricane Harvey and his call-to-action to help rebuild school playgrounds in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Maybe you shared in the joy of my May 2018 post titled A Jet Stream of Kindness where our students virtually connected with Jax over Facetime to see him enjoying his new playground and asking questions about his journey.

Perhaps you read about him in Chapter 3 of my new book, A Passion for Kindness: Making the World a Better Place to Lead, Love, and Learn where you learned more about kindness rocks and how they can heal hurting hearts.

If this is the first time you have heard the name Jet Stream Jax, you need to watch his “Kind Coins for Hurricane Relief” YouTube video right now and listen to his story. It’s compelling. Heart-wrenching. Inspiring. Then you will know exactly why I chose to include him in my book and wanted to meet him in person.

Barbara Gruener, author of What’s Under Your Cape? Superheroes of the Character Kind, was Jax’s elementary school counselor. In the fall of 2017, she tagged me in a tweet sharing his Kind Coins video, which ended up being the kick-off lesson for our year-long kindness initiative last school year. Throughout the year, we thought of Jax and his school community as we collected coins and strengthened our compassion for a boy we had never met.

Then the day arrived where meeting him was no longer a wish, but a reality.

Barbara and I planned to arrive at his school after dismissal, which gave us time to trek back to town following our visit to Todd Nesloney’s school. We met in the front office with formal introductions, where I presented him with a signed copy of my book, showing him the section I had included about his kindness advocacy.

Showing Jax his story, shared on pages 36-38 in *A Passion for Kindness*.

I asked if he would autograph my book, too, and he carefully penned his initials on the page. (I have one copy of my book as an official “autograph book” where I’m gathering signatures of those who are mentioned throughout the pages.)

After a short walk through his school building, he led us to his school’s playground, which was actually an obstacle course complete with a timer.

Jax ran through the obstacle course as his mom, sister, and district representatives watched from the wall. I had so much fun recording him as navigated each of the challenges, mastering the entire run with a time of 40 seconds. He then turned to me and said, “Your turn!”

Last year, when Jax connected with our classes, he offered an open invitation to our class: “If you’re ever in Texas, you can run the course and try to beat my time.” Here I was, in person, for a once in a lifetime opportunity – to become a kid again and enjoy the playground our students helped to build with their donations.

When a student invites you to share in their joy, there is no other answer but, “Yes!”

I gave it my best effort with Jax and his sister cheering along the way. I will admit that my speed as a middle-aged, mom of three, lagged a bit behind Jax, but I was pretty impressed with my time of 52 seconds. (The videos of our obstacle course runs make me smile at the memories!)

After exploring the playground a bit more, Jax led us to their Playful Hearts Peace Garden where he and Barbara searched for the kindness rock created for my school.

We found the rock for Mechanicsville Elementary!

Jax shared his family rock that was painted for the rock garden.

Our visit concluded with a few formal photos and a brief interview with the communication specialist in Friendswood Independent School District, then we gathered at the front of the school to take a few more photos together. It was a joyful reconnection for Barbara and Jax, and I had the privilege of meeting another amazing kindness cultivator in our world.

The following week our visit made the front page news in an article written by Karolyn Gephart for the Friendswood Reporter News and was spotlighted by Friendswood ISD on their Twitter and Facebook pages. So exciting!

Tweet by Friendswood ISD
*Photo courtesy of FISD Comm. Dept.*

Never doubt the power you have to put good in this world. Whether you are a nine-year-old storm chaser from Texas or a forty-six-year-old woman from a town that grows tomatoes, your words and actions matter.

Keep sharing your stories. Keep doing kind things for others. Keep being the person that someone else needs you to be.

Each day is a new day to inspire!

In March, I traveled to Houston, Texas as part of my R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence, the first of several trips I will complete this year and next. My proposal, “Cultivating Kindness for Global Impact” takes me to various locations in the United States and Canada to dive into learning opportunities that align with my passion for kindness. One of the perks of these trips is meeting Kindness Cultivators, many of whom I spotlight in my book, A Passion for Kindness: Making the World a Better Place to Lead, Love, and Learn. This week and next I will be sharing stories from my journey so you can “travel” with me, too!

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education, kindness, REBkind, travel

Texas Kindness: Kids Deserve It

April 11, 2019June 11, 2019 Tamara

The second stop of my kindness tour with Barbara Gruener was visiting Webb Elementary School to meet principal, Todd Nesloney, author of Stories from Webb and co-author of Kids Deserve It and Sparks in the Dark.

I met Todd in 2014 when we both presented Ignite sessions for the ISTE Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. In fact, it was his presentation about Genius Hour that sparked my passion project collaborations with teachers in my school! It was a delight to see him again and thank him for the positive impact he’s had on my teaching journey.

Webb Elementary in Navasota, Texas is another “must-see” school. We were delighted to receive a tour by a fifth grade student named Eli, whose smile could light up the darkest room. We began our tour in the office where a massive Lego wall spanned more than half the wall. Barbara snapped a photo of Eli and I adding a few creations of our own to the wall.

Eli proudly explained the meanings behind their “House Families” and patiently watched as Barbara and I took dozens of photos. We learned that families include students from every grade level and they remain in these families for the entire year with school-wide challenges at regular intervals.

As we were admiring the giant wall paintings, several kindergarten students passed by and excitedly announced that their family had won the latest challenge and they were chosen to go on a field trip together! The pride they had in sharing this reward with us was precious!

One of their family emblems hand-painted on the wall.

Each family emblem and name is displayed at the front of the school.

As we continued our tour, we saw many Disney references, the chosen theme for this school year. We also admired their “I Am” mirror wall (I couldn’t resist looking into the ‘kind’ mirror!)

I love the way Webb Elementary makes use of each nook and cranny to make school an inviting place to be. A corner reading nook caught my eye as did the colorful canvases displayed throughout the building. I especially loved the family canvases shown at each teacher’s door, spotlighting personal families, too.

Random Reading Spot with canvases on walls.

Canvases of teachers and their families outside of each classroom door.

At the conclusion of our tour, we met back with Todd and spun the color wheel to determine which family we would join. It was a joy to get a sneak peek at Webb Elementary and learn more about their school culture!

A special thanks to Barbara Gruener who volunteered to drive the distance to Navasota and back. We were able to enjoy the Bluebonnet wildflowers along the way and geared up for our next stop: meeting Jet Stream Jax who inspired our Kindness initiatives in the Fall of 2017!

More Texas fun to come in my next post! Stay tuned!

In March, I traveled to Houston, Texas as part of my R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence, the first of several trips I will complete this year and next. My proposal, “Cultivating Kindness for Global Impact” takes me to various locations in the United States and Canada to dive into learning opportunities that align with my passion for kindness. One of the perks of these trips is meeting Kindness Cultivators, many of whom I spotlight in my book, A Passion for Kindness: Making the World a Better Place to Lead, Love, and Learn. This week and next I will be sharing stories from my journey so you can “travel” with me, too!

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education, kindness, REBkind, travel

Texas Kindness: Kind Kids

April 6, 2019June 11, 2019 Tamara

On my first #REBkind trip, I visited Houston, Texas and neighboring locations to meet kindness cultivators and learn more about character education. I was blessed beyond measure by the hospitality of Barbara Gruener (@BarbaraGruener), author of What’s Under Your Cape: SUPERHEROES of the Character Kind. She not only opened her home to me as a warm, welcoming bed-and-breakfast, she offered to drive me around town to meet others and take in the local sights around Friendswood, Texas. Although I was in town for less than three days, we made the most of every moment!

*Fun Fact for you: Friendswood began as a colony created in 1895 by two Quakers, Frank Jacob Brown and Thomas Hadley Lewis, “to establish a community dedicated to God.” (The term “Quakers” and “Friends” are often used interchangeably.) Almost one hundred years later, I would be married in a Friends church in my hometown! What a delightful connection to discover!*

Our first stop on this kindness adventure was teaching a kindness class! Barbara had already arranged to teach a lesson with Wendy Hankins (@MrsHankinsClass), but unbeknownst to Wendy, I was joining in the fun, too!

At Kirk Elementary School, they have a school-wide genius hour where students get to follow their passions and join a mixed-age group for a themed lesson. Wendy and her coworker, Christine Owings (@MrsOwingsClass), host a kindness club called Kind Kids (@KindKidsAtKirk) and Friday was their first lesson with a new group. It was perfect timing for a surprise visit!

I wish we had taken a photo of Wendy’s face when she came through the door and saw us sitting in her school’s office! It was the first time we had ever met, but we hugged as if we were long-lost friends!

After introductions, we made our way back to her class and Barbara and I blessed Wendy with a copy of both of our books. We took a few photos, then watched as Wendy welcomed her students to class, listening to sounds of “Limbo” playing through the laptop. We even had a chance to check out the students’ stellar dancing skills, too!

When students switched to their Genius Hour groups, our “class” had expanded to nearly 40 students! WOW! I read one of my favorite kindness stories, “Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed” by Emily Pearson, then Barbara and I shared our personal experiences with kindness, specifically how one ordinary deed could make a monumental impact on someone else’s life.

We discussed the hurricane that came through their area last school year and showcased Barbara’s student Jet Stream Jax (both of whom are spotlighted in Chapter 3 of A Passion for Kindness.) We showed them Jax’s Kind Coins video and talked about kindness rocks, kindness shirts, and how we can all become kindness cultivators, too.

Wendy showed them where their Kindness Club was mentioned in my book (p. 113) and Barbara led a visualization activity so students could see the ripple effect of kindness over the course of one month. The students were excited to start sharing kindness with the world!

Following the kindness lesson, as students switched back to other classrooms, Wendy showed us the Kindness Quilt displayed in their school’s hallways that students had made last semester. (Could you tell it was created with 12″ x 12″ scrapbook paper? So quick and easy!) Before we left, I gave Wendy a few things for her students as little reminders that every act of kindness matters.

Barbara and I were filled with such joy from our visit with Wendy, Christine, and the kind students of Kirk Elementary! It was a wonderful way to start our morning of kindness!

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