For this week’s Walking the Beat, I wanted to do a Throwback Friday. I want to share something I wrote back in 2020 once we came back to school after being isolated for so many months. Why do I want to share this message this week?
Here is why: I’ve been spending a little bit of extra time watching our students interact with each other during lunch and brain breaks. I noticed, during a lot of the interactions, a huge need for kindness. I talked to a couple of kids about the way they were treating others. I am glad they listened respectfully and attentively to what I had to say. So, that is why I wanted to share what I wrote two years ago. Part of one of the paragraphs refers to struggles we all faced when we were at home most of the time.
One of my favorite movies to watch with my family is Wonder. This movie has some of the best most uplifting lines you can imagine. If you haven’t seen this movie, don’t worry, I am not going to ruin it by quoting the whole movie…just the best lines 😊
I know that this topic doesn’t necessarily cover “safety and security.” But I think one of the best ways to get along with others, show respect for others and stay away from trouble is if we all decide to be KIND. During the last few months, we haven’t been able to do a lot of the things we love. Some of us haven’t been able to SEE the people we love. Now that we are back at school, we are not able to see one of the best characteristics of a person: the smile! One smile can say more than a thousand words. Because others can’t see our smiles, I think we need to make an extra effort to show kindness.
“When given the choice between being right or being kind choose kind…”
“Be kind for everyone is fighting a hard battle.”
I am a huge advocate for everyone to be kind. There are different ways we can be kind to each other. Feeling accepted, feeling noticed, feeling appreciated, and feeling included are all results of being kind. Even during arguments is possible to be kind (I’ve done it…and it works).
Again, I told you that this topic maybe doesn’t involve anything related to “safety and security.” But I believe that “kindness” can change everything, even when discussing preventing crime.
Don’t hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can help you with, or any questions you might have about anything. You can just email me at gabe.uribe@stemk12.org and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you so much for allowing me to talk to you about this!
Be safe!
Deputy Gabe