In Red Wing, Minnesota, efforts to teach kindness alongside traditional subjects like reading and math are gaining momentum. The U.S. spends vast sums on education annually, but kindness often doesn’t make the curriculum. In some schools, however, kindness is being prioritized.

Kindness 101 is a program that leverages stories from CBS News’s “On the Road” segment to teach kindness and character. These stories are paired with lesson plans from “Character Counts!,” a nonprofit based at Iowa’s Drake University. Scott Raecker, the executive director, explains that these resources are freely available to educators.

The idea that we could develop curricular resources around these stories that elevate the best of our country… and we’re going to do all this so that educators don’t have to pay to get them,” Raecker said.

One highlight for CBS correspondent Steve Hartman is visiting Kindness 101 classrooms to see this initiative in action. Neil Lahammer’s third-grade class at Burnside Elementary School in Red Wing is a prime example. Lahammer is among over 100,000 teachers who have implemented Kindness 101, inspiring millions of children globally.

Teachers access the lessons at Kindness101.com, designed to encourage kindness and character. Lahammer shared that seeing students emulate the kindness demonstrated in the videos validates the program’s impact. A student said the lessons make them strive to be better people.

• Students participate in kindness activities, like food and glove drives.
• These activities often replace recess, underscoring their commitment.

Lahammer helps promote the Kindness 101 curriculum beyond his classroom, training other teachers in his district. His efforts led to him being named the first-ever Kindness 101 National Teacher of the Year, awarded in April in Des Moines, Iowa.

Students express their admiration for Lahammer, with one saying, “He makes me smarter and he makes me happier. He’s my whole world.”