![]() ![]() They were even being recognised for being kind with little awards. I was warmed by how much they knew about kindness, how they were learning at school what it is and how important it is. The children really just wanted to know about me and a little bit about what I did. ![]() As I wrote above, I was a little nervous when I arrived because I’m not used to communicating what I write and teach about to young children, but my fears were unfounded. The day was an unexpected pleasure for me. I can’t quite express in words how moving it was.Īs I write this, I still see in my minds’ eye, happy, smiling faces from some of the children I spent most time with in John’s class. These young children, singing together, some looking at each other for comfort or approval, moved me to tears. It was a rehearsal for an audition later in the week for BBC Children in Need. He must have been about 9 or 10 years old.ĭuring lunch, I sat in on choir rehearsal, where Mr McLellan played some music that the children sang along to. That he mentioned the word ‘particles’ and had a sense of their size and relative quantities just blew me away. They’re so tiny you can’t see them and everything is made up of millions of them.” Then he put his finger on the table and said, “I’m touching atoms right now.”įew adults could give such a precise answer. “They’re tiny little particles that make up everything. I wasn’t prepared for the following answer from a small boy: Since my PhD was organic chemistry, which consists of sticking atoms together to make molecules, many of which end up as medicines, I asked if anyone knew what atoms were. Between them, they painted a good picture of what a scientist does. ![]() Many of could describe some aspects of different kinds of science. I asked if any of them knew what a scientist is. In one class, I talked about how I went to university and then worked as a scientist making medicines. I repeated the same thing three more times through the day for children at all ages, including whole-year assemblies for primary 7 children (ages 11 and 12) as well as primary 1 (ages 4 and 5). I was also asked things like, “What’s your favourite TV show?” and “Do you have a car? What kind is it?” It was so incredibly nice for the children just to get to ask what they want to know, and I enjoyed it immensely. Faces swelled with pride when they got answers right. One of the first questions was, “What age are you?” so we had a guessing game, followed by another guessing game around how many pages my book has and another about how many words are in it. ![]() Mr McLellan had given them all cards the day before so that they could write their questions and read from them. I went around them one-by one, amazed as they gave lovely examples of kindness like helping someone up if they’ve fallen down, saying nice things to people, saying ‘thank you’, paying compliments, holding a door, even being respectful.Īfter a little more talk about kindness they had a chance to ask questions. A sea of hands shot up, each of the children politely waiting to be asked. I asked if any of them knew what being kind meant. I told them that I mostly write and teach about being kind and how important that is. I explained that I’m an ‘author’ and showed them some of my books and various international translations, including the same book in English, German, Romanian and even Japanese, which they found fascinating. I brought a couple of my books with me and began to talk about my job as a writer. My first class was John’s class, a small class of 8. John assured me that I’d be fine, that they mostly just want to know what I do and then ask me questions. I usually talk a lot about the science of how kindness impacts health, as well as various aspects of the mind-body connection and self-esteem, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to simplify things for the children or even make what I do sound remotely interesting. Almost all of my talks, lectures and workshops have been for adults. I was a little nervous as I’m not used to speaking to children. It was a school outside Glasgow, Scotland, on the invitation of my friend, John – aka Mr McLellan. I spent a day earlier in the week at a primary school where I was talking to young children about the importance of kindness. ![]()
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