Aristotle eloquently reminds us that
educating the heart mind without
educating the heart is no education at
all kindness is the cornerstone of
educating others and we’re all educators
whether we recognize this or not
kindness can play a huge part in
achieving our attendant outcomes for
instance we potty train our children and
we don’t do this with a mean spirit we
do this with patience and understanding
we teach our dogs new tricks by
showering them with praise we welcome a
new colleague into the workplace and we
show them the ropes and we put our best
foot forward
and our friends and our families learn
about their own self-worth by the ways
in which we interact with them when we
have the opportunity to show kindness to
someone we’re showing them how the world
can actually work and when someone feels
comfortable around us when they feel
safe and relaxed in our presence as
Aristotle reminds us this is when
learning and real growth can take place
now I taught college courses English
classes in academic writing and research
for a decade I designed curriculum for
online classes and I homeschool my
children my hunch is that when you hear
me say I taught college classes for a
decade or I design curriculum for online
classes that you think something much
differently about me then when you hear
me say I homeschool my children your
thoughts might not have been always
filled with kindness and understanding
might have been a little judgy and
that’s okay because I want to make
something clear to you so you can
relieve yourself of that burden and set
yourselves free because I don’t
so whether or not I’m standing in front
of my dining room table and in my
bathrobe in front of my kids or I’m
standing in a classroom in front of a
group of college students I begin with
the belief that everyone deserves
kindness compassion empathy and
understanding because these qualities
these inclusive qualities break down
barriers and they enable us each one of
us no matter what side of the
educational equation we’re on to begin
to believe in our given potential in the
first weeks of every college class that
I taught I would run exercises exercises
so that students could take an inventory
of how they best retained and processed
information so they can become aware of
their personal learning styles our
learning styles influence the way we
behave they guide the way we think they
change the way we internally represent
our experiences the way that we recall
information they even influenced the
words that we choose research shows that
each learning style uses a different
part of the brain so when you’re able to
engage that part of your brain you can
manage the information that comes in
successfully and well showing someone
about their personal learning style is
actually an act of kindness because
you’re giving someone a glimpse into who
they really are and when you show
someone who they are and what they are
capable of this is one of the most
formidable acts of educating another
human being and I once had a student
named Shay Shay’s husband had died of a
heroin overdose the year before she had
five children she was working three
separate jobs and attending classes two
nights a week she was bright wow she was
exhausted and I felt so much compassion
for Shay there was a part of me that
wanted to just do whatever I could to
move her along just as an act of
kindness but instead I chose to show her
something about herself Shay said to me
I love to read I’m a visual learner
but after doing this inventory she
realized that she was actually a tactile
learner she learned best by doing she
implemented those strategies into her
study habits she not only passed my
class she graduated she became a nurse
several years later she came to find me
at the college dressed in her nurse’s
uniform and her life was massively
different she was working one job two of
her children had graduated from high
school one was in college and the other
was in the military and remembering that
exercise is a turning point in her
education she wanted to come and say
thank you
and I said Shay you’re welcome but you
really need to thank yourself I didn’t
show up to your classes
I didn’t write your papers I didn’t take
your exams I didn’t do any of that work
for you you did that for yourself I just
taught you a little something and you
took advantage of it you paid attention
to it I just did it to be nice she said
to me mrs. Randall you are nice but
that’s not what I came here tonight to
tell you I came here to tell you tonight
that I don’t ever want you to forget
that compassion has no limits and
kindness has no enemies on a Tuesday
afternoon when my kids and I are walking
through the grocery store often someone
will come up to us and say shouldn’t
those kids be in school today and I have
to tell you my my go-to line is you know
actually we’re we’re doing a little
subject I like to call consumer math
that response isn’t always met with
pleasantries but I want my kids to know
what kindness looks like and what kind
of sounds like when I’m able to turn
around and say thank you so much for
telling me how you feel I really truly
we have two goals two educational goals
in the Friday Randall home school of
Delaware one is self-management and the
other one is kindness
my husband and I get asked questions all
of the time
about homeschooling and some of them are
logistical you know how do you do that
anyway some of them are statements or
assumptions about a belief that they
have oh I don’t think I could do that
with my kids and some of them are really
insightful and someone will ask what
made you decide to homeschool your kids
what motivated you or are you worried
that maybe you’re not preparing them to
go out into the world I can tell you
that my children are compassionate and
kind they’re smart they’re inquisitive
they’re curious they’re funny they’re
great to be around
we aren’t preparing them to go out into
the world we are preparing them to
change it I’d like to end with this
story my mother lived with us for the
last three years of her life and she had
Alzheimer’s disease it was difficult to
watch her illness progress but I was
fortunate enough to watch my kids
embrace her and embrace her disease she
would run math drills and do reading
exercises with them until she couldn’t
remember the answers anymore my kids
learned math and reading skills anyway
but they also learned patience and
respect she would stand up with us in
the morning and she’d do the Pledge of
Allegiance with us and she would recall
the same stories over and over again
about how her and my father travelled
the world through a career in the United
States Air Force and the day may have
started late we may have heard the same
story more than once but my kids learned
about patriotism commitment and honor
she would sneak them treats at the table
when she thought I wasn’t looking and
they learned about not taking things so
seriously and the importance of having a
good laugh we all learned about being
flexible and really staying present with
someone
and we learned that while an illness can
claim the life of someone that we love
ultimately love is the thing that
remains and compassion for another human
being can make all the difference in
their quality of life a little burst of
kindness can put a spark of sunshine
into someone else’s day teaching someone
kindness and compassion showing empathy
for someone else can put a colossal
burst of sunshine into someone else’s
approaching education with the belief
that compassion has no limits and
kindness has no enemies has enabled my
family and I to learn a lot from each
other we’ve learned how to rely on each
other we’ve learned how to care for each
other so that we can take that out into
the world and from the value of an and
importance of inclusion and
responsiveness the importance of dance
party breaks semi-regular pajama days we
are learning how to change the world not
by our opinions but by our example one act of kindness at a time
educating the heart mind without
educating the heart is no education at
all kindness is the cornerstone of
educating others and we’re all educators
whether we recognize this or not
kindness can play a huge part in
achieving our attendant outcomes for
instance we potty train our children and
we don’t do this with a mean spirit we
do this with patience and understanding
we teach our dogs new tricks by
showering them with praise we welcome a
new colleague into the workplace and we
show them the ropes and we put our best
foot forward
and our friends and our families learn
about their own self-worth by the ways
in which we interact with them when we
have the opportunity to show kindness to
someone we’re showing them how the world
can actually work and when someone feels
comfortable around us when they feel
safe and relaxed in our presence as
Aristotle reminds us this is when
learning and real growth can take place
now I taught college courses English
classes in academic writing and research
for a decade I designed curriculum for
online classes and I homeschool my
children my hunch is that when you hear
me say I taught college classes for a
decade or I design curriculum for online
classes that you think something much
differently about me then when you hear
me say I homeschool my children your
thoughts might not have been always
filled with kindness and understanding
might have been a little judgy and
that’s okay because I want to make
something clear to you so you can
relieve yourself of that burden and set
yourselves free because I don’t
so whether or not I’m standing in front
of my dining room table and in my
bathrobe in front of my kids or I’m
standing in a classroom in front of a
group of college students I begin with
the belief that everyone deserves
kindness compassion empathy and
understanding because these qualities
these inclusive qualities break down
barriers and they enable us each one of
us no matter what side of the
educational equation we’re on to begin
to believe in our given potential in the
first weeks of every college class that
I taught I would run exercises exercises
so that students could take an inventory
of how they best retained and processed
information so they can become aware of
their personal learning styles our
learning styles influence the way we
behave they guide the way we think they
change the way we internally represent
our experiences the way that we recall
information they even influenced the
words that we choose research shows that
each learning style uses a different
part of the brain so when you’re able to
engage that part of your brain you can
manage the information that comes in
successfully and well showing someone
about their personal learning style is
actually an act of kindness because
you’re giving someone a glimpse into who
they really are and when you show
someone who they are and what they are
capable of this is one of the most
formidable acts of educating another
human being and I once had a student
named Shay Shay’s husband had died of a
heroin overdose the year before she had
five children she was working three
separate jobs and attending classes two
nights a week she was bright wow she was
exhausted and I felt so much compassion
for Shay there was a part of me that
wanted to just do whatever I could to
move her along just as an act of
kindness but instead I chose to show her
something about herself Shay said to me
I love to read I’m a visual learner
but after doing this inventory she
realized that she was actually a tactile
learner she learned best by doing she
implemented those strategies into her
study habits she not only passed my
class she graduated she became a nurse
several years later she came to find me
at the college dressed in her nurse’s
uniform and her life was massively
different she was working one job two of
her children had graduated from high
school one was in college and the other
was in the military and remembering that
exercise is a turning point in her
education she wanted to come and say
thank you
and I said Shay you’re welcome but you
really need to thank yourself I didn’t
show up to your classes
I didn’t write your papers I didn’t take
your exams I didn’t do any of that work
for you you did that for yourself I just
taught you a little something and you
took advantage of it you paid attention
to it I just did it to be nice she said
to me mrs. Randall you are nice but
that’s not what I came here tonight to
tell you I came here to tell you tonight
that I don’t ever want you to forget
that compassion has no limits and
kindness has no enemies on a Tuesday
afternoon when my kids and I are walking
through the grocery store often someone
will come up to us and say shouldn’t
those kids be in school today and I have
to tell you my my go-to line is you know
actually we’re we’re doing a little
subject I like to call consumer math
that response isn’t always met with
pleasantries but I want my kids to know
what kindness looks like and what kind
of sounds like when I’m able to turn
around and say thank you so much for
telling me how you feel I really truly
we have two goals two educational goals
in the Friday Randall home school of
Delaware one is self-management and the
other one is kindness
my husband and I get asked questions all
of the time
about homeschooling and some of them are
logistical you know how do you do that
anyway some of them are statements or
assumptions about a belief that they
have oh I don’t think I could do that
with my kids and some of them are really
insightful and someone will ask what
made you decide to homeschool your kids
what motivated you or are you worried
that maybe you’re not preparing them to
go out into the world I can tell you
that my children are compassionate and
kind they’re smart they’re inquisitive
they’re curious they’re funny they’re
great to be around
we aren’t preparing them to go out into
the world we are preparing them to
change it I’d like to end with this
story my mother lived with us for the
last three years of her life and she had
Alzheimer’s disease it was difficult to
watch her illness progress but I was
fortunate enough to watch my kids
embrace her and embrace her disease she
would run math drills and do reading
exercises with them until she couldn’t
remember the answers anymore my kids
learned math and reading skills anyway
but they also learned patience and
respect she would stand up with us in
the morning and she’d do the Pledge of
Allegiance with us and she would recall
the same stories over and over again
about how her and my father travelled
the world through a career in the United
States Air Force and the day may have
started late we may have heard the same
story more than once but my kids learned
about patriotism commitment and honor
she would sneak them treats at the table
when she thought I wasn’t looking and
they learned about not taking things so
seriously and the importance of having a
good laugh we all learned about being
flexible and really staying present with
someone
and we learned that while an illness can
claim the life of someone that we love
ultimately love is the thing that
remains and compassion for another human
being can make all the difference in
their quality of life a little burst of
kindness can put a spark of sunshine
into someone else’s day teaching someone
kindness and compassion showing empathy
for someone else can put a colossal
burst of sunshine into someone else’s
approaching education with the belief
that compassion has no limits and
kindness has no enemies has enabled my
family and I to learn a lot from each
other we’ve learned how to rely on each
other we’ve learned how to care for each
other so that we can take that out into
the world and from the value of an and
importance of inclusion and
responsiveness the importance of dance
party breaks semi-regular pajama days we
are learning how to change the world not
by our opinions but by our example one act of kindness at a time
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