KINDNESS and CRUELTY
(The Daily "Genocide")
Iwitness Journal



"I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same"


I am sure that my code of lfie may be different from yours, but how do you know that trust, compassion, and beauty, will not make
this world a better place to be in and this life a better one to live?  My codes may seem like a fantasy that can never be reached,
but test them for yourselves and see what kind of effect they have in the lives of people around you. 
You may just start a chain reaction."

Rachel Joy Scott
quoted from her essay "My Ethics, My Codes of Life"



The "Rachel's Challenge" program was born from the murder of Rachel Scott during the Columbine Massacre of Colorado in 1999.

The pledge that participants agree to is based on a simple, yet powerful idea:

To value yourself and all other people in this world. 

        Valuing yourself means setting  positive life goals. 
        Valuing others means treating everyone with dignity, respect, and compassion.

As students, your world centers around school for a third of your waking hours.  This is a major area of experience and
influence for you. 

In order to "start a chain reaction" of creating a kinder, more compassionate and friendlier school "challenge" yourself:

For the next week (5 school days) keep an "Iwitness" journal:

1.  Take time each day to observe what you see happening in your schoolmates' behaviors and conversations with,
      or about, others. 

2.  In your journal, record what you have seen and heard -- the acts of kindess or cruelty
                (remember: non-verbal body language, ignoring, and exclusion are also forms of cruelty). 

3.  Also record how these kindnesses and cruelties affected the person(s) they were directed towards.

4.  End your journal entry with your own personal reaction (what you thought and felt) to what you observed. 


"Be the change you wish for the world"  --  Mahatma Gandhi