To kindness and love, the things we need most

Dear all,

In a week in which we celebrate Valentine’s Day, it is also important to remember that acts of love and kindness are not one-off events.

In schools we talk about kindness and tolerance on a regular basis, and these two characteristics are arguably the central pillars of what love is.

The cynic (or Grinch) in me suggests that today’s version of Valentine’s Day is nothing more than a marketing ploy for florists, jewellers, restaurateurs and chocolatiers throughout the globe. I am happy to be proved wrong but the financial data provides me with a healthy hook from which to argue my case.

The Grinch is Dr Seuss’s notoriously grumpy character, most famous for stealing Christmas. However, in the famous book he gives an unlikley toast, ‘To Kindness and Love, The Things We Need Most’. Even if you wanted to, it is very hard to disagree with this statement and this is a compelling message day in and day out, and not just on a single day each year.

I suspect that educators will not be dwelling too heavily on the romantic love of Saint Valentine, but more on the virtues associated with the word itself. Blogs, assemblies and podcasts will talk about the power of Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) that make people’s lives happier and more fulfilling both for those giving and receiving the aforementioned RAKs.

Perhaps these are the musings of a grumpy old man, but I am not sure that the love mentioned on Valentine’s Day is guaranteed to be either random or indeed kind. The acts of giving on the 14th of February are mostly planned and most probably one-offs. I think it’s far more meaningful to show a little bit of love and kindness all of the time, and that is what we should be telling children on Wednesday of this week and on any other day of the year.

I do hope that you have a restful half-term break and we look forward to seeing the children back in school on Monday 26th February.

Jason Whiskerd