Schools Across America Are Teaching Kindness

For generations, American schools have focused heavily on reading, writing, science, and math.

But in some classrooms across the country, students are now learning something educators say may be just as important:

Kindness.

According to a new report from CBS News, schools nationwide are increasingly using programs designed to teach empathy, compassion, character, and emotional intelligence alongside traditional academics.

One of the fastest-growing efforts is called “Kindness 101,” a program inspired by uplifting “On the Road” stories from journalist Steve Hartman.

The lessons pair real-life stories of kindness with classroom activities developed by Character Counts! at Drake University.

Teaching More Than Academics

The free curriculum is now being used by more than 100,000 teachers and has reached millions of students around the world, according to the report.

The goal is simple:

Help children learn how to treat others with empathy and compassion.

Teachers say the lessons often create meaningful changes both inside and outside the classroom.

“When I see the students duplicating what they’re seeing in the videos… as a teacher, that’s gold,” said third-grade teacher Neil Lahammer of Burnside Elementary School in Red Wing.

Lahammer has become nationally recognized for bringing kindness-focused education into everyday school life.

Students Choosing Kindness Over Recess

One of the most remarkable parts of Lahammer’s classroom is the school’s Kindness Club.

Students regularly volunteer to give up recess in order to organize food drives, glove drives, and other projects designed to help classmates and community members.

Teachers say the program helps students understand that kindness is not just something people talk about — it’s something people actively practice.

One student described the lessons simply:

“It just makes me want to be a better person.”

Why Kindness Education Matters

Educators and child development experts increasingly argue that social-emotional learning has become especially important following years of rising anxiety, bullying concerns, social isolation, and the long-term effects of the pandemic.

Programs like Kindness 101 aim to strengthen communication, empathy, leadership, and emotional awareness at a young age.

For many schools, the focus isn’t about replacing academics.

It’s about building healthier students and stronger communities alongside them.

An ‘Army of Kindness Superheroes’

Lahammer was recently named the first-ever Kindness 101 National Teacher of the Year during a ceremony in Des Moines.

But he says the recognition is really about the students.

His goal, he explained, is helping create an “army of kindness superheroes.”

And judging by the smiles in his classroom, that mission may already be working.