Generosity In School
vs. stinginess
Managing resources to freely give
To practice Generosity I will:
- share what I have with others
- reuse and recycle
- give of my time and talents
- praise the qualities I see in others
- not expect anything in return
Generosity begins with Empathy
We are motivated to give to those less fortunate when we feel empathy with the receiver. Classrooms are no different. For students to feel generous to other students, there needs to be a connection that starts with empathy. The same is true for giving to the local community needs. It needs to be more about the connection than winning the pizza party for collecting the most pennies. Building empathy starts with simple interactions and grows to include deeper conversations. Activities that identify similarities (like our TeamBuilding Activities) help students realize how much their classmates are like them. If similarities are good, are differences bad? No. Differences add new perspectives, unique skills, and fresh ideas that keep things interesting. Once the empathy connection is created, Generosity to others will flow naturally.
-Jill Tomey
