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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING A SPACECOAST SYMBOL OF KINDNESS
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HON. BILL POSEY
of florida
in the house of representatives
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Mr. POSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend kindergarten
students in my Congressional district who have made it a priority and
to remind us that kindness ``is always possible.''
Nearly a year ago, transition kindergarten teacher Ms. Barbara Wilcox
inspired her class at Tropical Elementary on Merritt Island in Brevard
County, Florida, to join an initiative they called ``Together Kind.''
She shared, ``I do a lot of service learning with them, talking about
how to be kind to people.''
Children often ``get it'' when adults are slow to respond. That
certainly played out strongly in Ms. Wilcox's class. The children
wanted to make a difference. They recognized the meaning behind common
symbols like the peace sign, the happy face and the heart, for love.
And, in their wisdom, they perceived the value of having a symbol to
remind the world of the importance of just being kind to one another.
The class designed four candidates for a Symbol of Kindness and took
their vision to the world. They shared their symbols on Facebook,
through email, and a website they created called togetherkind.com.
About 1,000 people from 25 states (and England and Ireland) voted and
decided the winner.
The children use social media only through parents and their teacher.
But, they learned the power of communication and how to engage people
in a meaningful and valuable way. They sold $1 magnets with the winning
Symbol. ``Every day we looked to see how many people had signed the
petition, and we highlighted, on a map, all the states people are
from,'' said Ms. Wilcox, who's been teaching for 22 years. So, showing
a little kindness can teach geography and bringing people together.
Those are some of the things that kindness is about:
Reaching out beyond ourselves and showing respect and care for
others. Their symbol builds on the heart as the symbol of love. The
heart is enclosed in a circle of arrows and that reminds me that
kindness is more than just a noun. Kindness is an ``action'' word.
Kindness happens by doing.
I'm so proud that a class of young people in my district could remind
us, ``Kindness is always possible'' in what they did and in the Symbol
of Kindness they have given to the rest of us as a reminder.
I have introduced a resolution to recognize their work as the
Spacecoast Symbol of Kindness. Hopefully, their symbol can be carried
by our astronauts on some future mission into space to spread their
message beyond even our planet. If the nation needs kindness today, we
can surely look forward to taking kindness with us to the moon, Mars,
and beyond.
Once again, I commend Ms. Wilcox and her class. They remind us that
kindness is doing something for another person without expecting
anything in return other than the possibility that others will pass on
kindness to others. I thank the kindergarteners at Tropical Elementary,
for this reminder.
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