Riverside Intermediate Teacher Ties Compassion Into Curriculum

FISHERS, IN — The willingness to be mindful, compassionate, attentive and open to the struggles and strengths of others are practices many do not fully grasp until their young adult years, for whatever reason. An ability to encompass all of these are needed now more than ever, which is why Jen Robinson, a fifth grade teacher known as Mrs. Robinson at Riverside Intermediate School in Fishers, tries to instill each of these practices in her students from the moment they step in her classroom each day. There's no doubt the standard fifth grade curriculum is very important, but watching Mrs. Robinson and her students interact with each other during a visit to her classroom on March 1, it was evident they've been learning much more than that.

A framed photo of what Robinson calls the "classroom mantra" hangs on the room's left front wall, reading, "I believe in you. I trust in you. You are listened to. You are cared for. You are important. You WILL succeed." From looking at the students spread out around the room working alone, with each other, under desks, on chairs, or on massive exercise-type balls, it's apparent Robinson wants her students to focus and work in whatever way they feel is comfortable.

Little did I know that just a few minutes after I walked into her classroom, I'd have to show compassion and understanding right off the bat when her eyes filled with tears following the first question I asked her, which was simply, "Why teaching?"

Mrs. Robinson's reaction wasn't because it was a sad or stressful question, but instead due to memories of teachers who taught her what it means to be mindful, compassionate, attentive, open. Those same ones that she said influenced her decision to become a teacher.

Through watery eyes and a soft laugh, Mrs. Robinson admitted to being emotional and that her students are well aware of this. She said books will even do the trick when it comes to setting off the waterworks, so she'll warn her students if the book she's about to read to them is one that sparks emotion.

But these emotions come from looking back on those who Robinson described as positive supporters and influences when she was a student.

“I was a struggling student, for attention reasons," Robinson said. "Not so much academically, but for attention-type reasons.”

Robinson said when she was in the third grade her teacher was the first educator who let her be who she was and accepted her for who she was.

"Then, my fifth grade teacher taught me that school could be fun, but still taught me so much and just loved us, and then I had a seventh grade teacher who taught me to be organized," Robinson said. “I try to combine the best things I learned from them and pass that on.”

She's doing just that in her first year teaching fifth grade social studies and language arts at Riverside, after nearly 15 years as an educator.

From teaching special needs kindergarten and first grade students, elementary level kids, to now running a fifth grade classroom, you would have thought the Fort Wayne native, Ball State University grad and mother of two has been teaching at Riverside for much longer if you saw the way students and staff interact with her.

”I love what the administration here believes," Robinson said, nothing the "mindfulness, freedom and support to teach in the manner that I believe in."

Robinson said she came out of Ball State determined to teach fifth grade, but teaching kindergarten and first grade special needs students taught her about life and teaching. Another contributing factor in her current routine of mixing life lessons into her fifth grade curriculum, which from observation and discussion with Robinson and her students, is working well thanks to her open-door policy with her students' thoughts and feelings.

“I believe strongly in student choice," Robinson said. "You always get a much better product when their heart is behind it. I believe in giving a global perspective for discussions as we read from a global books collection." Robinson said thanks to these books, she's able to teach her students about different leaders and their beliefs, which influenced a big part of the school year for Robinson's class.

During the month of February Robinson and her students took part in the Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest, defined as "The world's largest game to create Peace On Earth." The Compassion Games website says this is "a community engagement experience that invites people around the world (or in this case a school setting) to challenge each other to reveal and promote acts of compassion that better our lives, our communities, and all life on Earth."

"It became a movement that spread into schools and other places," Robinson said. "If you look at the website you'll see there are ways to 'play,' so we took some ideas from that and made some goals for ourselves."

One of these goals? For the class to perform "500 compassionate acts" during the month of February.

"We started at the beginning of February, the first week, and said in February we wanted to do 500 compassionate acts," Robinson said. "I sent out an email blast to staff about what we are doing."

While Mrs. Robinson's class set this goal to learn what it means to be compassionate and kind to others, they also did it as a way to focus on their attitude within the classroom walls.

”We've struggled this year with using kind words, treating each other with grace, understanding when people mess up or make a mistake - my team that is - as I can't speak for the school as a whole," Robinson says.

To keep track of how many acts they've completed, a drawing of a large thermometer with #500 at the very top hangs from her classroom door (pictured). She allows students, parents and others to see this progress through the hashtag #500infebruary on social media, including her classroom Twitter page @robinsons_room.

These compassionate acts include leaving notes of encouragement in library books, on desks, lockers, on little treats and other areas where students will find them. One of Robinson's students created a list of 30 kind tasks or actions, and the action to complete would be chosen based on using a 30-sided dice.

When the overwhelming week of ISTEP testing came, Robinson's class created encouraging signs for every fifth grade class.

According to Robinson, her class kicked off the school year learning about kindness and compassion through studying examples of leadership from around the globe. One of those leaders is Leon Logothetis of the Netflix show, "The Kindness Diaries." The TV host, author, world traveler and kindness leader became a familiar name in the classroom. Robinson recalled the time she and her husband connected with Logothetis on email last year, saying the public figure often chooses countries to speak in.

"He had a Kindest Class in America competition," Robinson said. "We as a class had that conversation, and realized we weren't the kindest class in America, so we couldn't enter. But that's part of what led us to entering the Compassion Games because that's what they wanted to be, the 'Kindest Class in America,' so this gets us a couple steps closer to that."

A Leon Logothetis quote, "I helped someone feel less alone today..." hangs in the classroom as a daily reminder for the students to do just that.

For Robinson, it's not just about teaching the children to do something kind, it's about teaching them what comes of such an action, including how it makes others feels and the long-term impact. It's about being mindful and open to others and their feelings.

Practicing compassion and kindness on a daily basis whether a child is 10 or 11 years old is necessary during a time when these feelings and actions are needed everywhere at the highest levels.

“I believe strongly that we need to teach these kids to look outside of themselves, their internal focus," Robinson said. "There is so much focus on 'my goals' and 'my success' that we lose focus that we're part of a community and part of a team. We do better when we’re working together."

Robinson says she hopes students are open with her instead of shutting down or feeling ashamed, especially at this young age.

"They know I believe in them as people, that I know that sometimes how they behave doesn't determine who they are and that's what I try to remind them," Robinson said. "A bad choice or a bad choice of words does not define you. I really know who you are in your heart, you really know how you are in your heart."

The respect seems to go both ways as Robinson's students had nothing but positive things to say about their teacher and the impact the Compassion Games is having on the classroom.

"It’s really pushed us to be compassionate and help others and help us be aware of our compassionate choices every day," said Robinson's student, Zoey. “I’ve seen lots of new friendships happen, and I actually witnessed someone asking someone to be their friend. It was a great moment."

Zoey said she wants to be a teacher, crediting Robinson for her part in this dream, saying, "She pushes me to reach my goals, is amazing and inspires me every day."

Although the students have been focusing on positive practices, it doesn't mean they're in the clear from difficult outside influences. One of the biggest obstacles and struggles the students have is the impact of social media. Robinson specifically mentioned social media struggles as an issue among her students, and they discuss this.

"We talk about things that happen on social media weekly, as they struggle with that, as well as the struggle of putting out a false self-image or truth about who they are," Robinson said. She says they also discuss the importance of not letting what people say impact your own self-perception, as she tells her young learners its about building confidence and believing in who you are.

One of those topics recently all over social media and the news is last month's Valentine's Day attack by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It's truly a wonder how a teacher not only prepares to lead a classroom every day despite what's going on in the world or in their personal life, but especially after an earth shattering event at a school just states away.

"I wait to see if they (students) bring it up," Robinson said. "I let them lead those discussions, unless i'm asked to talk to them about something." Even with the gut-wrenching topics of school shootings, Robinson said she lets them lead where they go in the discussion, or she'll sometimes lead with literature if she thinks it will provoke discussion, like she does with most other topics.

Robinson said taking care of herself, preparing herself to teach and continuing to appear positive not only each day but after horrible news, is possible thanks to having conversations with other like-minded educators and through another method.

"I was disturbed and struggling with the words to get passed it, so I wrote about it," Robinson said. "I wrote a letter, not 'to' anyone though. That's what I tell my students, that if you're struggling with something and if you can write about it, it helps by just seeing something, and reading it." Robinson adds that she finds comfort through other people who are going through the same thing, or by relating to other educators, even through Twitter.

"There are other people out there with good ideas," Robinson said.

The topic of mental health always follows tragic events when it comes to discussions of motives and the history of the accused. But for Robinson, the hashtag #mentalhealthmatters on her Twitter page, is something she says she's always believed.

"It's kind of been a thread moving through my whole life, whether it be from personal experiences growing up, but especially as of late, as there’s been such a focus on moving that stigma through a Stigma Free Fishers," Robinson, a Fishers resident, said. Stigma Free Fishers focuses on changing the culture and stigma around mental health through learning, resources and community events.

"Our family very much supports that movement and anything that can be done to start the conversation," Robinson said. "With kids that are presented with anxiety and low self-image, we usually see the switches around third or fourth grade," Robinson said. "If they don’t feel good about themselves, or have trouble balancing some of those mental health issues, they aren’t learning.”

RELATED: Fishers Celebrates #StigmaFreeFishers Week Through Aug. 13

The same openness and awareness with Robinson applies to the parents of her students. Robinson said she welcomes an open and honest dialogue when parents reach out, as that's what she wants as a parent herself.

So what's next for Mrs. Robinson's students since reaching their #500infebruary goal? More creating and encouraging.

"We're going to try and make a few more things to put up to advertise and encourage each other around the school, and then talk about how this affected us," Robinson said.

Brady, one of Robinson's students, already sees a positive change.

"We weren’t as kind to each other at the beginning of the year, but we’ve changed a lot more through the year because of the Compassion Games,” Brady said. "There's been more friendships, respecting and listening to each other."

For Robinson, that's more than enough.

"That was my hope," Robinson said. "I just want them to see each other for the hearts I know they have. We have talked as a class about some of the changes they have noticed, but some things like the general change in tone, are hard to describe for 10/11 year olds," she said with a smile.

To keep up with Robinson's students and her compassion-filled curriculum, check out @robinsons_room.

You might learn a thing or two from these fifth graders, I know I did.

More: compassiongames.org, @LeonLogothetis

Images via Rebecca Bream