Kindness Works: Middle School Benefits From RAK Room
Kindness works. And students at one Texas middle school are proof. Houston’s C. E. King Middle School is where students are eager to earn a chance to visit one classroom in particular; the RAK Room.
What is a RAK Room?
It’s a room that is offered as a reward for Random Acts of Kindness. In the RAK room, students can exchange points they earn for being good students for prizes like T-shirts, sneakers, and basketballs.
It’s all about rewarding and encouraging good behavior, rather than focusing on the bad.
The room is the brainchild of Treveia and David Dennis, cofounders of Houston Random Acts of Kindness. The couple say they designed the RAK room to resemble a store, hoping to get students excited about being good citizens. And according to C.E. King principal Edward Taylor, it works. Taylor says the RAK room motivates students to be on their best behavior and ultimately do better in school. And it is not just the good kids getting better. Since the RAK room’s debut, Taylor has noticed a sharp decrease in classroom disruptions.
Why does the RAK Room work?
It turns out, there is a science to kindness. When you show kindness to another, your brain and body go through a chemical change that elevates the good feelings and decreases the bad. It can even help you to live a longer life.
According to RandomActsofKindness.com,
Kindness increases:
- Love Hormone
- Energy
- Pleasure
- Serotonin
- Lifespan
Kindness decreases:
- Pain
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Blood pressure
And, according to Dr. Ritchie Davidson of the University of Wisconsin, kindness can be taught.
“It’s kind of like weight training, we found that people can actually build up their compassion ‘muscle’ and respond to others’ suffering with care and a desire to help.”
And, it’s contagious! According to Jamil Zaki, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, just witnessing an act of kindness can increase your mood and encourage you to pay it forward.
