When students show kindness to their teachers #WATWB

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
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Nathan Neidigk is a Maths teacher at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico who has had a hard year. Having lost his wife shortly after the birth of their child, heartbreak continued to follow him when a few years later, his three year old son was diagnosed with leukemia.

Looking after his son in the hospital meant he had to be absent from class occasionally. It also meant he wouldn't be able to buy the little one presents for Christmas as all his money went for hospital bills. The students at his class realized this and so each pitched in and surprised him the next time he came to their class.

Kindness and compassion - When they realized that widower Nathan Neidigk was struggling with medical bills for his young son suffering from leukemia and could not buy his child a Christmas present, the students of Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque decided to show him how much they cared and chipped in to buy the child a Nintendo Switch along with games and accessories to help ease the suffering of the family during these hard times.


“We’re aware of your situation and we really want to help you out, so we all got together and we got you this,” they told their teacher, handing him a wrapped package. It turns out the students had bought his son a Nintendo Switch gaming console as well as two games for the young one to play with, leaving Nathan emotional and overjoyed at the same time.

“It was an incredibly generous gesture,” Nathan commented. "They found the opportunity to do something nice and allow my family to have fun moments in time of intense stress.”

You can watch the moment teacher Nathan Neidigk opens his present here.



There is also a fundraiser to help pay the medical bills for his child Mikey's medical bills that has reached over 70% of its target. You can choose to contribute if you wish by clicking here or share the page to support him by letting others know of his young child as well.


Authors note:

This post is part of the We Are the World Blogfest, a monthly event to showcase stories of compassion. 
The hosts for this month are Peter NenaEric Lahti, Inderpreet Kaur Uppal, Shilpa Garg and myselfThe idea is to spread positivity and light to counterbalance the negativity and darkness in socialmedia. You can check their pages to find the list of feel-good stories written by bloggers from around the world.

I chose to tell a story about students because in the wake of the latest school shooting in USA earlier this week in the town of Parkland, what came through was the strength of the young survivors who had lost their friends and classmates. They refused to accept the apologies of the political leaders and demanded more be done to keep them safe.
This next generation may be too young to vote but they have kindness in their heart and resilience in their bones. We need to encourage them to do what we couldn't - be real life heroes of Kindness and Compassion.

Do you want more stories of 'Real-Life Heroes of Kindness and Compassion' from around the world? I have been compiling a list for more than a year now - from small children to elderly women, from waiters to Presidents - you will see that everyone of us is capable of being a hero of kindness to others if we choose to be so. 
You can check them out here.

Post a Comment

25Comments

Let me know what you think.

  1. This is so precious, it brought tears to my eyes. These kids are amazing and Nathan seems to hold a special place in their hearts. Thanks so much for sharing this and for being part of #WATWB!😊

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    1. Glad you liked the story. I found it lovely too.

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  2. Amazing. Really thrvoicy in which he’s so happy is what I feel- happy and tearful.
    You rightly said, the younger generation is more kind and I hope they can bring the change we couldn’t.
    Love the series.

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    1. We need to do more to keep them safe.. they are the real saviours for all the nonsense we have done

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  3. How beautiful is that!
    You know, Roshan, I am so glad I signed up for this WATWB...Every once a month, I come across such touching stories of courage, generosity and goodness in our world..Most of the stories leave me teary eyed! <3

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  4. As a teacher, this made me emotional.
    We are often unaware of the lengths our students will go to and what they are capable of... until that specific moment arises and they surprise us with their selfless actions.
    Gives me hope for the future generation. It really does.
    Thank you for sharing.
    Writer In Transit

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  5. What a heart-warming story. I absolutely believe you're right, I think the younger generation will indeed prove themselves as great change-makers carrying much kindness and generosity.

    Thanks for sharing this, and for co-hosting this month.

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  6. Love that they took care of the personal present as well, what a lovely bunch. He must be an inspiring man to ... well, inspire that :)

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  7. Really great to see teenagers showing so much kindness.

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  8. This is very touching post. "Guru" is universally a respectable person in anyone's life!

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  9. What a kind bunch of students. Such a touching story that demonstrates that paying attention to other people and lending them a hand is the way to go.

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  10. As always Roshan you do find unusual everyday heroes which reinforces my belief that humanity is still alive. Thanks for sharing this lovely story

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  11. What a beautiful story about a kind group of students. Your reason for selecting this type of a story is touching. You are right, they do have kindness in their heart. Thank you for sharing, Roshan, and for co-hosting #WATWB.

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  12. Fabulous story, and just my kind. It's always great to hear good news about teachers and students.

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  13. Wow an amazing story and what an amazing concept to show compassion stories, i would love to participate!!!

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  14. I like also that you chose to tell this story in the wake of the Parkland tragedy where the children are the ones who are taking action. This story of the children in Nathan Neidigk's giving a present for his son is a wonderful example of kindness. Thank you for sharing it - and for co-hosting this month.

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  15. Wonderful post, Roshan. These students are stunning and it certainly warrants your "author's note". These young people need a chance to shine and call our leaders to be better. Thank you for sharing and for co-hosting us.

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  16. What a wonderful outpouring of love. We really do reap what we sow.

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  17. This is so touching grear to see the younger generation understand and show so much empathy. Kudos to positive attitude that will bring in rge change ahead

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  18. Moments like thi make me hopeful.The world is a good place.We only need to try a little bit

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  19. That's so beautiful act of kindness. Indeed teacher must be proud of her students.

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  20. This is really kind of students to think this way and come ahead to help in every possible way. The initiative to help is big in itself.

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  21. I think when the teacher makes an impact on the students by being friends, students being the sweet human are always ready to go that extra mile. nice article.

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  22. This is such a heart-warming story. It's so wonderful to see children practice kindness and compassion and brought smiles in their teacher's life. Thanks for sharing this lovely story, Roshan!

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  23. How do you find such unsung heroes? Thank god humanity is still alive

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