Common Read: All the Light We Cannot See
Note (8/23): This page is still under light construction. Please check back for updates!
September Theme: Kindness & Risk
Sometimes it can be vulnerable to be kind or even to get to know someone.
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Thematic Quotes & Book Sections
- p. 26: Werner says hello without receiving a response back
- p. 30: "To really touch something [...] is to love it."
- p. 42: Werner chooses to be inconspicuous over engaging in the cruelty of Hitler Youth
- p. 90: "everyone should behave as if he carries the real thing."
- pp. 120-121: Madame Manec takes in Marie-Laure & her father, but out of concern for Etienne does not take in others
- p. 184: "[H]as she calcified her feelings, protected herself, as he is learning to do?"
- p. 217: Frederick is kind despite being abused
- pp. 346-347: Etienne broadcasts longer than he should to send families news of loved ones
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Building Class Community
Options:
- Read your class the section from p. 26. Ask students to Think-Pair-Share: Have you ever been kind to a stranger and been rejected? Or have you been reluctant to offer a kind word in fear of this kind of treatment?
- Read your class either the section from pp. 120-121, or from pp. 346-347 (or both). Ask the class to discuss, in small groups, the challenges of being kind when there is some real risk to doing so. What tips the balance toward risking kindness vs. staying safe?
- Read or discuss the passage surrounding the quote from p. 184. Using an anonymous method, such as sharing a QR code to a Google doc with a blank table (students select an open line to type in their response) or a MS Form, ask: Why might you harden yourself to other people? What causes that kind of response? Then, in follow-up paired or small-group discussions, have students discuss: What are the benefits and drawbacks to this kind of response? How does that help or impede progress and changes for the good?
Follow your selection of above activities with one or more of these options:
- Discuss the importance of feelings of connection to acts of kindness. Then tell the class you'll be working to help them build connections with one another. Use We! Connect cards (free download of sample cards is available) once or periodically at the start of class: Hand one to each student, then ask students to find someone they haven't talked to or met, and ask one another their questions. They then swap cards, hold them up in the air, and locate another person looking for a new parter. Allow time for 3-4 iterations of this process (5-8 minutes).
- Find ways that the discussion students had can connect to your course content (this theme may work best for arts, humanities, education, and social sciences).
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Social & Societal Connections
- Select and share with the class a kindness-themed passage from the options above (or find another from the book)
- In a Think-Pair-Share, Chalk Talk, or simple small-group discussion, ask students one or more of these questions (or variants):
- Is it easy to be kind these days?
- What do you see as cultural challenges that make it hard to be kind?
- Do you wish there were more kindness in the world?
- What are the risks of being kind - to strangers, to coworkers, to friends, to family?
- How can we encourage more kindness in the world - or should we?
- What does our society lose when we "calcify" our feelings and avoid kindness?
- [Course-content-dependent follow-up]: Ask students to identify ways they can become "kindness agents of change" in our community.
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Course Content Connections
Prior to tying the book and this month's theme to your course content, select a passage or quote from the list above (or find another from the book) to lead off the activity or connection to course content.
The following ideas are not exhaustive, but are meant to inspire:
STEM
- Say, "Compassionate Math.com suggests that math is 'both cognitive and emotional.' How can you see kindness playing a role in how you learn math?"
- Kindness can result in a chemical reaction. See more.
- Inquire as to how a mindset of kindness can impact engineering or digital design.
Arts
- When discussing the power and influence of visual art, consider its potential impact on kindness. See more.
- Share with students these 25 Life Skills learned in theater study. Ask students to consider which of these skills can be best developed when kindness is also present.
- Introduce Be Kind: Dance to Unite, and explore with students how dance can help evoke kindness without words.
Humanities & History
- Ask students: What trends in history (or that we are currently studying) seem to be influenced by kindness and the subsequent risk that introduces?
- Works of literature can introduce the diverse ways of being kind as well as influence kindness. See more.
- Consider a class debate: Should there be an ethic of kindness? Or introduce for discussion the paradoxes of kindness. See more.
Social Sciences
- Kindness can help treat mental health mood disorders. See more.
- Introduce the possibility of kindness when discussing nature/nurture or states vs. traits. See more.
- Explore the impact of culture on our tendencies toward/away from kindness. See more.
Education
- Explore with pre-service educators how kindness creates learning-conducive classrooms. See more.
- Talk with pre-service educators about when and how to teach the value of kindness to their students. See more.
Health & Medical Sciences
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Reflection, Metacognition, & Insights
Consider offering these questions for students' consideration:
- How does my own kindness to others in the classroom influence the learning environment?
- Do I learn better with kinder peers and instructors? Why is that?
- What can I do to support a culture of kindness in my classes?
- Was I kind to others in class today? Why or why not? What might I do next time to try and be kinder in this class?
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Connections to Instructional Practice
As an instructor, think about the role your own kindness and risk-taking play in your classes.
- How does your kindness impact learning? Learn more.
- How do you remain kind yet keep appropriate boundaries (i.e., mitigate the risk) in your instruction? Learn more.
Suggested readings and resources:
- A Pedagogy of Kindness, by C. Denial
- Pedagogy of Kindness in Practice (webpage)
- A Pedagogy of Kindness with Cate Denial (Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode)
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Related CTE Events
Below are events at the CTE that are closely - or loosely! - related to September's theme of kindness:
- Community of Learners workshop
Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2:30 - 4:00
Sherrod, Room 433
Register - Respect for Students workshop
Thursday, Sept. 12, 12:30 - 2:00
Zoom
Register - Flash Mentoring: Flexibility with Students
Friday, Sept. 13, 12:30 - 1:00
Zoom
Register - Common Read Book Reading Time & Discussion (Parts 0-4)
Thursday, Sept. 19, 11:00 - 1:00 (Brown Bag lunch)
Sherrod, Room 441
Add to My Calendar - Flash Mentoring: Showing Students You Care
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 10:00 - 10:30
Zoom
Register - Teaching First-Year Students Club: Kindness
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 11:00 - 12:00
Hybrid: Zoom or Sherrod, Room 441
Register - Safe - But Not Too Safe - Learning Spaces workshop
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2:30 - 4:00
Sherrod, Room 433
Register
- Community of Learners workshop