CBS News and Drake University are proud to announce a partnership that will bring educational lessons on good character and kindness to teachers and students around the world. The partnership will feature the two organizations’ initiatives that focus on making good choices and showing good character: CBS News’ “Kindness 101” and Drake’s CHARACTER COUNTS!.
As schools closed for the COVID pandemic, Steve Hartman, CBS News correspondent, and his kids launched a web series called “Kindness 101.” The short videos featured excerpts from Hartman’s “On the Road” series and highlighted stories about kindness, character, and the people who have mastered these important qualities.
CHARACTER COUNTS! is based around the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship. Through 30 years of working with educators, CHARACTER COUNTS! provides best practices and resources to support schools’ character development programs.
Kindness 101 and CHARACTER COUNTS! will produce several three-minute videos that include lesson plans and activities focused on the Six Pillars of Character. Beginning in August, Kindness101.com will feature these new lesson plans for K-12 educators at no cost.
“This has been a dream of mine for a very long time,” said Hartman. “The people I’ve met ‘On the Road’ have given me so many important life lessons. I’m beyond grateful to now have this opportunity to share those lessons with school children across the country.”
Drake University president Marty Martin added, “We are proud to partner with CBS News to bring new, inspiring resources to educators through Kindness 101. We seek to transform lives and strengthen communities, and our Kindness 101 partnership provides a unique and powerful platform to achieve those goals.”