Last year in my For School Leaders newsletters I focused on teaching civility.
With this series on teaching civility, I drew heavily from Christine Porath’s book, Mastering Civility: A manifesto for the workplace, as well as other sources.
Teaching civility, the grace and courtesy lessons we offer in our Montessori classrooms find renewed importance.
Who do I want to be?
That is a key question to ask multiple times a day, not only to ourselves, but to those around us.
- Do you want to be a person who values others?
- Who helps others succeed?
- Who removes obstacles to success?
- Who creates a culture of kindness and respect?
- Who creates a place where people connect to their best selves?
You can imagine my delight when a Kids Talk reader, Gwen, wrote me in March and told me about a ritual established in their family.
In the recent newsletter from my children’s Montessori school, our head of school wrote a section about your work and thoughts on social media, digital literacy and civility.
Some of the phrases she included from your work made me think about something our family began when my children were very young, and we continue to do on occasion (or as needed) to this day. We call it the breakfast pledge. Meant to be said in unison, by choice, and to remind us of who we want to be that day.
I thought I would share it with you (and a picture of where it’s posted in our house) in return for your inspiration.
Gwen gave me permission to share the picture above and their breakfast pledge with other Kids Talk Readers.
The Breakfast Pledge
Today, I will try to be my best self.
To show love and respect to others and myself.
To be fair, honest and true.
To let my light shine.
You can find a copy to download at the button below. Long live civility!
Thank you , Gwen!
Download The Breakfast Pledge here.
I love this!!! Thank you for sharing the Breakfast Pledge with us. This is a great summary of what we talk about with our kids and is a nice way to help us all remember to be our best selves.
Barbara,
Aloha!
I hoped you’d love the Breakfast Pledge as much as I do.
Wunderbar!
You might enjoy watching Christine Porath’s TED Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/christine_porath_why_being_nice_to_your_coworkers_is_good_for_business