Ferial Pearson: Reading and Book Signing August 31st 2014

Ferial Pearson: Reading and Book Signing August 31st 2014: Friends, you are all invited to come to a reading and book signing event for The Secret Kindness Agents at The Tea Smith on 78th and Cass St...

An Article in The Reader about The Secret Kindness Agents by Leo Biga!

http://www.thereader.com/comments/teachers_secret_kindness_agents_project_now_a_book Thank you to Leo Biga for writing a wonderful article about me and my Secret Kindness Agents in The Reader! See the link above, or click on the link under "In The News" to your right.

The Secret Kindness Agents and I were featured in the Omaha Family Magazine's 2014 Teacher's Guide!

The Secret Kindness Agents and I were featured in an extensive interview in the Omaha Family Magazine's 2014 Teacher's Guide. I was contacted by former students who are teachers who received free copies in their mailboxes at the beginning of this school year. What an honor. 

http://www.omahafamily.com/Archives/Flip%20Book/2014%20Teachers%20Guide.html

Carolyn Rabideaux and Carissa Seretta Start an SKA Project with their Homeroom at Bryan Middle School in Omaha!

Just a few weeks ago, I received a message from a former graduate student of mine who is now my friend, Carolyn Rabideaux, a fantastic teacher at Bryan Middle School in Omaha. Here's what her message said:

I met my CUBS (homeroom) co-teacher today. I filled her in on what we do in CUBS and then I said, "I'd also like to try something different this year. There's this book called Secret Kindness Agents..." she stopped me, "Oh, my G*d! Ferial! I love Ferial!!" She explained that you were her instructional coach and she gushed about how kind and wonderful you are. I said, "So, would you be willing to try that out with me? I'll put a copy of the book in your mailbox tomorrow." She said, "Yes, of course!" and now I am very excited to start our own Secret Kindness project!!

As if that wasn't wonderful enough, that co-teacher turned out to be my practicum student when The Secret Kindness Agents project was actually happening, Carissa Seretta! After the practicum, I began working at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where I got to be Carissa's Instructional Coach for her final practicum before Clinical Practice. This is Carissa's first year teaching. 

I'm so glad these ladies have kept in touch with me!

They are planning to post updates on a Twitter page: @BMSecretKindnessAgents

An Extraordinary Moment in My Life and for the Secret Kindness Agents

Once in a while, I experience something extraordinary. Usually, it's even heartwarming, inspiring, and brings tears to my eyes. On the morning of August 7th, 2014, because of some phenomenal people in Ralston Public Schools, that happened. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on a keynote speaker from some other state, they chose to focus on their own teachers, administrators, and students. Instead of opening the school year by focusing on test scores and data, they spoke of the importance of kindness and compassion, and of treating students as though they are their own children. Instead of extolling the virtues of strangers, they celebrated the kind deeds of their own teachers. The wonderful superintendent, Mark Adler, spoke movingly about how much the kindness of his staff in supporting his struggle with cancer has meant to him. The school board president Linda-Jason Richards made us cry with her story of the kindness of her elementary school principal when she was a little girl and how it affected her entire life. Jane Leadabrand listed all the things teachers do on a regular basis for their students behind the scenes. I was honored to be asked to speak by Dan Boster, who organized the event, along with two of The Secret Kindness Agents S.K.A. "Chi" Maribel Navarrete-Hernandez and S.K.A. "Scrappy Doo" Lance Otto and their talent advisor Amy Rector. School board member Dee Huff shone from the front row with kind smiles and nods of encouragement. The district bought 500 copies of our book and gave one to all of their teachers, the idea of Dr. Kristi Gibbs, the assistant superintendent. I'm so glad my children are being taught by these wonderful educators. I got hugs, kind words, and wonderful notes fromKristin Hassett Walsh, Jennifer Ludes, Maria Torres Weaver, Christine Morris Adair, Shelley 'Kropp' Sheets, Kelly Wood Honz, Ryan Pivonka,Michelle Kenyon Krum, Doug Pierson, Judy Startzer, Emily Hoesly,Patricia Barker, and many others. Jenn Stark took pictures for me, as did Erin Reel, our editor... such big hearts. Wow. Just. Wow.

New Praise for The Secret Kindness Agents from Erin Gruwell, Lester Laminack, Cheryl Lage, and Dr. Peter Smith!

“In an age where teens are passionately plugged into virtual reality, but tragically tuned out to the world revolving around them, the Secret Kindness Agents prove that it is possible to unplug, reconnect, and spread love and joy. Inspiring and heart-warming, The Secret Kindness Agents will leave any reader feeling hopeful.” Erin Gruwell, Founder of the Freedom Writers

“Kindness is a weed. It doesn't need rich soil and pampering. It doesn't need much attention at all. But, give it even a crevice in the hardest rock and it will find a way to thrive. In this small volume, Ferial Pearson leads a group of high school students on a journey of discovery about the power of kindness to take hold and multiply when given even the slightest chance.” Lester Laminack, S.K.A. “Sting,” award-winning educator and bestselling author of Bullying Hurts: Teaching Kindness Through Read Alouds and Guided Conversations

"This is a story about the real meaning of education. It’s not about becoming a better producer or consumer; it’s about becoming a better human being!" - Dr. Peter Smith S.K.A. "Hopeful" - Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“Want to cultivate kindness? Experience the description-defying pleasure of bringing joy to another human - voluntarily? Clandestinely? Daily? Rejoice! Thanks to Ferial Pearson, you now have a guidebook. Secret Kindness Agents: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Really Change the World is the must-have for would-be Secret Kindness Agents (SKAs) of all ages.”  - Cheryl Lage,  S.K.A. “Sprinkles,” author of Twinspiration  and Twinfatuation. com

An Interview with Write Life about The Secret Kindness Agents

WL: What inspired you to write this book?

FP: After posting numerous updates on Facebook about our Secret Kindness project and about how the project was changing me and my students, I started getting messages from various people asking how they could do a similar project with their families, book clubs, classrooms, youth groups, and so on. When Cindy Grady from WriteLife suggested writing a how-to book, it seemed like a natural next step. I thought that if our little project made such a big difference in our lives, how great would it be if it happened in other places too?
  
WL: Did the process of writing this book change your life? How so?

FP: The process of writing the book forced me to reflect deeply on what we had done, and to follow up with my students on how the project had affected them a year later. Their answers renewed my hope for a kinder community, my faith in the power of small acts of kindness becoming habits, and my love for humankind. Realizing how strongly the project affected my students and me through the writing the book of this book changed the way I look at small acts of kindness; I used to think of them as inconsequential, but I know now that they pack a huge punch. In essence, reading this book every time I read about, hear about, or experience injustice will give me fresh energy to go out and try again to be the best version of myself that I can be, and to know that it really doesn't have to take much effort at all. 

WL: Who are a few of your greatest influences and why? 

FP: My parents and grandparents were my biggest influences because they taught me about kindness and compassion, even in the face of hate. I watched them go through heartache and pain and still hold no grudges. They were always giving what they had to others, whether it was time, food, resources, or a place to stay, and they never questioned whether a person was "worthy" of their time and energy.

Mahatma Gandhi and Maya Angelou are my two other great influences. They both have been voices for the voiceless, and people who became leaders out of necessity instead of out of a hunger for power. They have understood the simple essence of humanity and have truly lived what they taught. They both expressed a love for humankind that never waned despite all of they injustice and hatred they faced from their fellow human beings. That kind of selflessness, optimism, and determination to make singular acts count in change-making has always inspired me to, like them, take the next step when I am tired. 

WL: How do the students featured in the book feel about the good they did in their school and community?

FP: My students became a community. More than that, they became a family. They felt more connected to each other and to their school, and they were truly proud of what they did, and continue to do to this day. I still get messages and emails from them telling me about particularly exciting acts of kindness that they have done, or that they have experienced. I've even been the recipient of some of their acts of kindness myself in the year since I left them. I will never forget their beaming faces, chests puffed out in pride, extravagant exclamation points and smiley faces as they told me or wrote to me about their good deeds. 

WL: What is your one wish for people who read this book?

FP: My wish is that the people who read this book see how easy this project is to do, and that they feel empowered to make small and powerful changes together in their own communities by becoming Secret Kindness Agents themselves!

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Reading and Book Signing August 31st 2014

Friends, you are all invited to come to a reading and book signing event for The Secret Kindness Agents at The Tea Smith on 78th and Cass St. in Omaha this Sunday, August 31st from noon to two. Meet some of the Agents, learn the background of the project, and get your book signed by some really kind people. And if you've never tried Bubble Milk, that's the place to go! We'd love to see you there.

Ferial Pearson on The Joy Factor on KZUM Community Radio with Sheila Stratton

This evening, I had a delightful conversation with Sheila Stratton on her show The Joy Factor on KZUM Community Radio. We spoke about The Secret Kindness Agents project and book. If you want to hear the interview, it will be streaming as a podcast on their website kzum.org!