Day 69: Simple ideas can lead to big changes.

"Honk If You Love Someone"

Photo from http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-02/lifestyle/35494321_1_happiness-positive-emotions-signs

I ran across this blog post by Jason Markey that describes how he is developing a vision for his school around the simple idea of being kind to others.  Markey says,

"Be Kind, Find Your Passion, and Commit to Excellence.  This is my new personal vision for education.  This is the sentence that I will share repeatedly with every one of our students and more importantly I will bring these thoughts to every conversation and decision I’m a part of."

I really like this video that Markey included.  It features the story of Massoud Adibpour who wanted to make a positive impact.  Adibpour got some folks together and put simple messages like "Honk if you love someone" and "Smile" on signs and stood alongside busy Washington, D.C. roads.  I love this idea of doing something simple to try and make a big impact.

There's been lots of research done to see what initiatives can make the biggest difference in schools, but it seems the best approach may look more like the vision of Jason Markey and Massoud Adibpour. Maybe the most influential initiative we can undertake is to show kindness every single day.  Simple things like saying hello to a student or smiling at them can make the biggest difference.