“KINDNESS MATTERS“

Since the beginning of the school year, I’ve had the phrase, “Sharing is Caring,” written on the class whiteboard.  It’s a common phrase I’ve heard from a local news station and one that resonated well with elementary students.

We have been learning about different genres of non-fiction.  I assigned my students the task of finding broadcast and print news.  Unfortunately, one of the most disastrous storms recorded in history occurred this past weekend.  Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines.  It’s hard to predict how international news can affect the lives of our students.  However, in the city where I teach, it’s a melting pot of cultures and our learning community is finding ways to show we care.  Our school is working with other nearby schools.

As a member of the International Reading Association (www.reading.org), I was also touched by the message from IRA President Maureen McLaughlin and IRA Executive Director Marcie Craig Post to IRA members regarding the “Response to the Typhoon Haiyan Tragedy in the Philippines.”  They included the following links to organizations who are helping in relief efforts and providing aid to the Philippines:

*  Doctors Without Borders – www.doctorswithoutborders.org

*  International Committee of the Red Cross – www.icrc.org

*  International Medical Corps’ Emergency Response – http://internationalmedicalcorps.org

*  International Rescue Committee (IRC) – www.rescue.org

*  Save The Children – www.savethechildren.org

*  United Nations’ Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF) – www.unicef.org

Before you donate, you may check the credentials of charitable organizations at www.charitynavigator.org.

Sharing comes in many forms.  Even in our current state of economic recession, the prayers, time, talent, and treasures from our community to international efforts brings out the caring in our hearts.