“If you have the choice between being right and being kind, choose being kind” (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer)

Occasionally, there is a book that stands out, that makes you feel better or makes you think deeper. It is a kind of book you cannot stop thinking about. One of those books is the children’s book Wonder, written by R.J. Palacio. Different quotes are worth mentioning but one of them is more powerful than others: “If you have the choice between being right and being kind, choose being kind”, a quote taken from American philosopher Dr. Wayne W. Dyer.

The impact of kindness: a gift that keeps giving

This quote makes one think about the impact of kindness on other people’s lives. A person can change somebody’s day by showing them a little act of kindness – to smile at someone who is in a bad mood can change their whole day! Both the “giver” and the “receiver” can then feel something special: the one who “gives” kindness experiences a moment of pride and self-worth, while the other person can feel less lonely, there is somebody who cares about them, they belong somewhere. Scientist Jamil Zaki in his article for Scientific American, believes that : “witnessing kindness inspires kindness, causing it to spread like a virus.”

According to his study, when people see other people acting in a kind way, they will reproduce an act of kindness themselves. Following this study, just by being kind, we could spread good deeds around the whole community, the whole city, the whole canton, the whole country...and eventually the whole world. It seems like it is really easy and doable.

Unfortunately, it is not as easy as it sounds. Jamil Zaki’s theory explains: “The battle between dark and light conformity likely depends on which cultural norms people witness most often. Someone who is surrounded by grandstanding and antagonism will tend towards hostile and exclusionary attitudes herself.” In a nutshell, it is the famous ‘what goes around, comes around’…

How can teachers promote kindness?

Being a teacher is a great opportunity to spread kindness to our students. Being a kind teacher has a huge impact on teacher-student relationships and on the emotional development of the students. However, this may raise an important question: should teachers postpone deadlines of students’ assignments? Should they excuse cheating during tests? Should they close their eyes when they see students using their earphones, phones and other electronical devices while it is prohibited by the school rules? Would that be considered as acts of kindness?

Kindness can be expressed in many ways: listening to students, showing them respect, adopting a positive attitude, smiling, being helpful... It is also expressed by setting clear boundaries and asking students to respect them.

Compassion in action at Collège Champittet

“Compassion” is the theme at our school for the 2025-26 year. Through a wide range of activities, we’re inviting our students to bring kindness into the world. Kindness and compassion can take many forms, but the most important step is to take action to do something positive.

For example, our nurse Eva Ruga and our Health and Safety Director Stephane Laloy have organised a training for our students to learn first aid skills – such as cardiac massage and the Heimlich manoeuvre – and become “Wellness Ambassadors”. Developing such skills can help learners strengthen their sense of responsibility within our community while empowering them to save someone’s life in an emergency. Our staff has also received training to ensure that they are prepared to act in such situations.

Simple gestures can also go a long way in spreading the kindness. Our Parent Association APEC surprised us with a fantastic breakfast for teachers on the Monday morning after World Teacher’s Day (October 5th). It was a wonderful way to start the week while feeling recognised and appreciated. 

Helping students understand the power of kindness

As stated in another quote from Wonder: “The best way to measure how much you’ve grown isn’t by inches or the number of laps you cannot run around the track, or even your grade point average – though those things are important, to be sure. It’s what you’ve done with your time, how you’ve chosen to spend your days, and whom you’ve touched this year.” Inspiring a student so that they realise the real values in life is a great achievement, but inspiring a student by showing them that they can spread kindness to other people is even better.

Dana Bauer, English Teacher at Collège Champittet adds : “I would like to believe that in schools, we show our students how to be kind because being kind is so much better than being right…”