Years ago, one of the most tragic school events in the United States happened at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Twelve students and a teacher were shot and killed, most of them in the school’s library. Afterwards, the two murderers killed themselves as suicide. One of the 12 students who died from the shooting was Rachel Scott. She was an ordinary teenager, but her kindness combined with her diary entries, like Anne Frank did over 60 years ago, led to an organization called Rachel’s Challenge. Established by Rachel’s family, the goal of Rachel’s Challenge is to motivate people to be kind and respectful to one another. It has been presented in schools and is still active to this day. "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go." -Rachel Scott According to the quote above, Rachel states an act of a kindness can start a chain reaction. This means if one person is kind to someone, they’ll spread it to others. This relates to what schools call the “golden rule”: “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Based on notes I took from an assembly for Rachel’s Challenge, here are the 5 steps. Leave a legacy of kindness. Show compassion. Practice Pre-Acceptance Learn from your mistakes. Forgive yourself and others. As one to accept Rachel’s Challenge, I encourage all of you to accept this too. This is an opportunity to change yourself and the people around you! Do you accept Rachel’s Challenge? Vote for your decision the poll above.
Of course I can confirm that this does actually change people. I've done this for years and years, and teachers say our class is unique in how the people treat each other.
We had that assembly 2 years ago... it was a terrible event but the legacy Rachel left behind was astonishing.
This is a wonderful idea! I've been painting quotes on my wall, and now I think I'll add that one too. So inspiring, thank you for making this forum
