Words That Matter
Image by lesyaskripak on Freepik
By Mark W.F. Condon, Unite for Literacy vice president
One morning in 2020, not long after the pandemic hit the U.S., my wife and I drove to an appointment in Eminence, Ky., just outside of Louisville. It was a gorgeous start to a new day with the east ablaze with “sky blue pink” behind a single bank of fluffy clouds. As we wound through the countryside we spotted a colorful hand-made sign that read, “Be Kind.”
“I love that!” my wife exclaimed. We wondered who had thought to create such a simple but beautiful reminder, agreeing how much we all needed kindness, particularly given the state of the world. Then we saw another sign, decorated differently, but the with the same message: “Be Kind.” It’s hard to describe how moved we were by these signs. Already they were working magic.
By the time we had arrived at our destination, we had seen six “Be Kind” signs, each uniquely decorated and bold in meaning.
Only a week before we watched the movie about the children’s TV icon Mr. Rogers, the gentle man in the red sweater who was played by Tom Hanks. So the “Be Kind” signs brought back for us a particularly compelling conversation from that movie. A writer was interviewing Mr. Rogers for what became a famous story shared in “Esquire” magazine in November 1998. In the movie, the writer asked Mr. Rogers if he knew the three ways to ultimate success. After a thoughtful moment, Tom Hanks captured Mr. Rogers’ voice and his sentiment perfectly: “Rule 1 - Be kind; Rule 2 - Be kind; and Rule 3 - Be kind!”
There in the waiting room, I took a moment to search the Internet for “Be Kind” signs and found a link entitled “Be Kind Signs in Oldham County,” the county through which we had driven. The signs were/are the work of two sisters, Raegan and Rylyn Richins (then 11 and 8), who having seen a sign in another county, wanted to spread the message of kindness in their own community.
Their effort was a hit and they quickly found themselves in the sign business. In the three years since launching their initiative, the sisters have hand painted more than 3,500 signs to promote the need to “Be Kind.” (Learn more about the impact of their heart-felt effort at www.bekindsigns.org).
Now, since this blog site is about uniting for literacy, it’s our hope that the work of these two young girls will inspire teachers and families to explore with their students and children ways to make a difference by creatively using written words.
In school, children routinely use words to compose stories, reports, and speeches. But wouldn’t it be interesting to see how they might use words to brighten their classmates’ days or boost their self-esteem? What if kids were invited to brainstorm with other students’ messages that could cheer up others? Perhaps class schedules could include 20 minutes a week for kids to jot notes to their families?
What if parents provided their pre-school children with writing and decorating materials so they could write notes or poems for their families, friends, and neighbors? Or maybe they could start a neighborhood newsletter or website filled with sweet messages and instances of neighbors helping one another. And there are many retirement homes filled with lonely people whose days would be joyfully brightened by sweet messages from children. The possibilities are endless!
The point is, there is magic in sharing simple, caring messages with others. It creates the very kindness that sisters Raegan and Rylyn dreamed about when they launched their sign-making enterprise.
What better way to teach children the power that words offer than to make a positive difference in the lives of others, their communities, and the world?