Jodi Crawford is a Grade 7 teacher who, along with her students, is working with the Our Hidden Heroes Social Responsibility Program, a program that evolved out of this column over the past six or seven years.

Jodi says she wasn’t sure at first just how the program would go over with her students but she was “pleasantly surprised” when they became engaged from the very first lesson.

“They were focused; they were reflective and they were able to absorb what we learned and then bring it up with me later in the week in discussion," she says.

The students have been able to look inward to find the Hidden Hero in themselves and to talk about the Hidden Hero attributes they find in their friends and family members. Jodi likes the fact that students are given the language needed to better understand and describe what they are feeling and thinking.

Although she is only half way through the four to six week, 25 lesson program, Jodi has seen a definite difference in her students. They are becoming more aware of each other’s thoughts and feelings and much more inclusive of one another.

She talked about one girl who leaves the class for all but an hour or so each day to attend a special learning centre. At the beginning of the year the other students isolated her when she came back to the classroom but as the Our Hidden Heroes program unfolded, they started being much more welcoming and supportive and now this girl is starting to speak up and share her ideas because, Jodi says, she feels safe thanks to her fellow students.

Jodi has also observed that most of her students, especially some of the boys, are showing better judgement and thinking more before they act and that is being reflected not only socially but also academically.

The program inspires students to find the best in themselves and each other, she enthused, and concluded by saying that the world would be a much better place if more of us could do that.

Teachers will be interested in Jodi’s comments regarding the teacher support materials.

“The lessons are extremely clear and well laid out,” she told me. “I tweak them of course but everything is there. I could read a lesson plan and teach it fifteen minutes later; it’s that well laid out. It’s obvious that it’s been designed by teachers for teachers.”

I’ve watched Jodi at work with her students and there’s no doubt in my mind that she is in the process of inspiring a class full of Hidden Heroes. They will be much more socially responsible young people as they enter high school.

In conclusion, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the members of our Curriculum Development Team who joined me a year and a half ago to help bring this program to the exciting professional level we have achieved. They are Kirsten Verhoeven, Laura Harrison and Terri Zolob. Without doubt they are the best and most creative team I have ever worked with on any project at any time.