The forty-minute elementary Link Up! presentation introduces elementary school students to Rachel Scott and her challenge to reach out to others with deliberate acts of kindness. The presentation is a fun, energetic, interactive assembly that mixes music, video, and activities to tell her story. Students learn about a young girl named Rachel; however, they do not hear or see footage related to the Columbine tragedy or her death. Although appropriate for students in grades K–6, the presentation is most effective with K–5 students.
Kindness & Compassion Club
K–5
The Kindness & Compassion (K & C) Club is a way to involve students in fun, practical activities that keep them engaged in sustaining the culture of kindness portrayed in the Link Up! presentation. All K & C Clubs make Chains of Kindness, chains of paper links created by the students. Each time a student observes an act of kindness by another student, he or she writes that act on a strip of paper and links it to the classroom’s chain. Teachers read the links weekly and acknowledge students for their efforts. At the end of the year, teachers can have a Link Up! party and read some of the links to remind students how they made their school a better place during the year.
Power of One Program
K–5
Developed by elementary school educators and counselors, Power of One is the follow-up program to Kindness & Compassion Club. It follows the same outline as its prerequisite and provides a full year of new lessons and activities. Power of One also adds a section of lessons and activities for students with special needs. There is no mention of Columbine or Rachel’s death in this program. The Power of One reinforces and expands upon the same challenges for elementary students as presented in Kindness & Compassion.
Rachel’s Story Presentation
5–6
This presentation introduces younger middle school students to Rachel’s story and her challenge to deliberately reach out to others with kindness. Rachel’s story is told through the eyes of her family. The Columbine tragedy is introduced at an intensity level appropriate for fifth and sixth graders. Her story shows the profound positive impact students can have on those around them by simply paying attention to the little things they do and say every day. Rachel’s story encourages participants to consider their own behavior.
Rachel’sChallengePresentation
7–12
Conveyed through stories from Rachel’s life and writings, the Rachel’s Challenge presentation shows the profound positive impact we can have on those around us. It demonstrates to the listener the power of deliberately reaching out to others in word and action to start what Rachel called “a chain reaction of kindness and compassion.”
Rachel’s Legacy Presentation
7–12
This sixty-minute follow-up to the Rachel’s Challenge presentation program builds upon the legacy that Rachel inspired in the lives of people around her. Through a series of stories told from the perspective of those whom Rachel touched, the Rachel’s Legacy presentation encourages participants to take specific steps toward making their own positive legacy a reality.
Friends of Rachel Training
5–12
The Friends of Rachel training is designed to help a select group of students (up to one hundred preassigned students) and adults (a minimum of one adult to every ten students) create a club that fosters a permanent culture of kindness and compassion in their school. The training starts with time for participants to share their feelings about Rachel’s story. The bulk of the training discusses why the club is important and provides resources to plan for the club’s first meeting and activity.
Chain Reaction Training
5–12
Chain Reaction is a six-hour, intensive, interactive training that consists of three parts: (1) teaching and processing segments, (2) physical activities, and (3) full- and small-group sharing. Chain Reaction includes a cross-section of a school’s population represented by eighty to one hundred students and twenty to twenty-five adults. It is important to maintain a minimum ratio of one adult to four students throughout the program. The program is designed to promote personal introspection, empathy, community building, and empowerment.
Community Event
6–12, as well as community members
The Community Event introduces Rachel and her story to parents and community members using stories from her life and writings. This event is typically held in the evening. It is similar in content and intensity to the Rachel’s Challenge high school program. The Community Event shows the profound positive impact we have on those around us and demonstrates the power of deliberately reaching out to others to start what Rachel called a “chain reaction of kindness and compassion.”
As seen in table 2.4, Rachel’s Challenge offers a variety of programs in different formats that are appropriate for a range of age levels. Visit rachelschallenge.org for more information.
To illustrate the power of Rachel’s Challenge’s programming, consider the Chain Reaction training designed for middle schoolers and high schoolers. Each Chain Reaction assembly works with around one hundred students and twenty-five adults in a school over a period of six hours. Participants move through teaching and processing segments, physical activities, and full- and small-group sharing sessions. The teaching and processing segments outline major themes of the assembly, including social labeling, appropriate affection, the power of words, isolation, shared experiences, and the ability to start chain reactions within a community. The physical activities (often in the form of cooperative activities; see page 114) forge and deepen community bonds, particularly among students who may not frequently interact in a positive way. Finally, the full- and small-group sharing sessions allow participants to reflect on the content presented during the teaching and processing segments and express their feelings in a safe environment. One particularly powerful activity that occurs during the assembly is Cross the Line, in which presenters call out prompts and ask students to step forward if they relate to what is said. Example prompts range from “I have been embarrassed at school” to “I have seriously considered ending my life.” Such prompts help students recognize they are not alone in their feelings while asking students who do not cross the line to use empathy to consider others’ circumstances.
Summary and Recommendations
This chapter discussed how to foster a connection to something greater than self in students. We provided strategies for the following seven topics: (1) inspirational ideals, (2) altruism, (3) empathy, (4) forgiveness, (5) gratitude, (6) mindfulness, and (7) Rachel’s Challenge. Each of these topics, in some way, encourages students to think beyond themselves or to use introspection to consider and analyze their existing world views.
Although teachers can use the strategies in this chapter in a variety of ways, we recommend the following.
▸ At least once a month, present students with inspirational movie clips or videos and have them discuss the ideals they represent.
▸ Incorporate inspirational quotations into the classroom whenever possible, even if this includes providing inspirational quotations to students without comment.
▸ At least once per year, have students engage in an altruistic project.
▸ At least once a semester, use strategies related to empathy, forgiveness, gratitude, or mindfulness.
The following scenario depicts how these recommendations might manifest in the classroom.
A middle school science teacher wants to help her students experience a connection to something greater than self. When presenting new content, she provides biographical information about relevant scientists using movie clips and short reading assignments and asks students to articulate the ideals represented in them. She also posts an inspirational quote each Monday, which she calls the Quote of the Week, though she does not always directly discuss the quote with students. She tries to choose quotes that are relevant to what is occurring in class—for example, she chooses a quote on the importance of practice during a week leading up to a formal assessment. For an end-of-the-year project, the teacher decides to have students apply their knowledge to develop altruistic projects that
Up! Presentation