The students at Southport Middle School are being challenged to participate in 17 Acts of Kindness in remembrance of the 17 lives lost in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting. Ms. Morgan Kellogg, Southport Teacher of the Year and Student Council Advisor, explained on the morning news show that if 800 Southport students were to complete just one act of kindness for each life lost, that would be 800 acts of kindness to remember each of the individuals from Marjory Stoneman Douglas. She described to students how a true act of kindness requires a sacrifice on the part of the doer and how one kind act could truly be contagious.
It’s about completing an act for someone else to bring happiness to his/her life without getting something in return. It’s about being aware of when a person around you needs an act of kindness. It’s about empathy and compassion for others. It is not about personal gain or recognition.
Parents are encouraged to remind their child to participate in the 17 Acts of Kindness movement and to help them to reflect on the person they are becoming. We all believe in different ways to prevent tragedy, but at the end of the day there should be no debate about the importance of kindness to each other especially in school.
