What does it mean to be kind?

Positive Relationships

We will explore what kindness really means and find ways to be kind to ourselves and others. We will see how kindness can make a difference in our day-to-day lives

11-13

Life skills covered in this lesson:

Perspective Taking

Perspective Taking is the ability to imagine and understand a situation based on how it appears to others and their cognitive and emotional response to it. It is the ability to recognize their points of view, experiences and beliefs even when different from our own. This recognition creates the basis of mutual understanding, leading to new learning, reshaping our social interactions and developing new world views that are broader and more inclusive in nature.

Overall, Perspective Taking promotes social bonds, unlocks the potential of diversity in teams, leads to creative solutions and diminishes the possibility and impact of stereotyping.

Perspective Taking In Action

The person will be able to:

Practise active listening skills when their friends or group members are sharing their story or viewpoint.
Identify the need to seek out and include views, opinions and experiences of their classmates, teammates and groups in general.
Identify and acknowledge the experiences, feelings, and viewpoints of others even though they are different from their own.
Find ways of expressing their emotions in ways that others can understand and accept, especially in times of conflicts and differences of opinion.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from their point of view and context, imagine ourselves in their place and respond appropriately. Empathy is relating to others with acceptance, understanding, and sensitivity to their diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, and taking action accordingly.

Empathy plays an important role in being a socially competent person with meaningful social relationships. The ability to empathise is important for promoting positive behaviours towards others, and facilitating social interactions and relationships, thus motivating altruistic behaviour. This skill also makes us challenge intolerance, bias and stereotyping when we see it.

Empathy In Action

The person will be able to:

Listen well, pay attention to non-verbal communication and pick up subtle cues.
Understand others’ perspectives and feelings.
Show sensitivity towards others.
Help other people based on their understanding of their needs and feelings.
Respect and relate well to everyone, regardless of their diverse backgrounds.
Alter the way they interact with others to fit with the others’ diverse needs and feelings.
Appreciate others for their strengths and accomplishments.
Provide constructive feedback to others to help them improve.
Put the needs of others first and look for ways to improve their situations.

Compassion

Compassion is our ability to feel for others when they are in pain and be motivated to take action to relieve their suffering. It includes five essential elements – recognizing other people’s pain, accepting that human suffering is universal, feeling for the sufferer, tolerating the discomfort it causes to us without being judgmental and feeling motivated to help. It includes the aspect of Global Compassion which refers to compassion felt toward others regardless of their relationship with us, their status, background, membership to any group, and overall circumstances.

Compassion is an enduring skill that is associated with a range of positive attitudes and behaviours towards self, others and humanity as a whole. It is kindness and empathy extended beyond our own people thereby contributing to prosocial behaviour, conflict resolution, and peacekeeping at a global level.

Compassion In Action

The person will be able to:

Recognize others’ feelings and emotions in particular situations.
Identify their own feelings and emotions as they witness or hear about another person’s pain, suffering, hardships and misfortunes.
Recognize how they feel when they hear about a person’s or a group’s suffering who is not related to them.
Engage in simple acts of kindness on a day to day basis with people within their circle, as well as with strangers and animals.
Come up with ways in which they can reach out and help others.
Identify and validate people’s experiences across gender. race, ethnicity, geographical locations, religion, socio-economic strata etc. and show their readiness to help.
Demonstrate a humane approach towards global problems.
Commit to causes and put together resources in order to mobilize help.

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Positive Relationships

What does it mean to be kind?

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