ANNOUNCING OUR NEW EDUCATION DIRECTOR....ANNA UNKOVICH

We are pleased to announce that Anna Unkovich, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul in the Classroom (with Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen), is offering her considerable life experience to help the Pay It Forward Foundation. Anna has more than thirty-five years of teaching experience in Michigan and California, has received multiple national and local teaching awards, and has been named Who's Who Among American Teachers five times.

With a background like that, we're sure you can understand how pleased we are to announce that she has volunteered to serve as the Foundation's Education Director.

A FEW WORDS FROM ANNA......

As an educator for over 35 years, I can attest to the importance of teaching first to the heart, then to the head.  There is a saying that “students don’t care about what you know until they know that you care.” 

It is no accident that Trevor, the main character in Pay It Forward, is age 12.   It is an age of innocence, and one of hope for the future.  Nor is it coincidental that Trevor was encouraged by his teacher; a man who challenged him to make a huge difference in the world, and who opened his own heart because of Trevor. Most teachers do care, and the best teachers also learn from their students.

In my journey with using Chicken Soup for the Soul stories with my students, I was reminded of another morsel of wisdom for teachers—students of all ages like to feel.   Some students experience this in the classroom by hearing stories, others by writing, and still others, by doing.  Jack Canfield refers to this as “emotional literacy,” and believes that it is one of our jobs as educators, to guide students through their range of emotions in a safe, classroom environment.

While it is important to feel, it is even better to feel good.  It doesn’t matter if students are rich or poor, age 6 or 16, black, white, or green, they are empowered by giving, and it need not involve any money. Wayne Dyer speaks of research that shows increased serotonin levels in the brain for the giver, the receiver, and the witnesses of any acts of kindness.  Just think of the possibilities here!

It is one of our Foundation goals to introduce this concept to children of all ages—to provide them opportunities to feel good by helping others, but more importantly, to empower them to change the world (three people at a time!).

It is my personal belief that this is the single most important thing we can do in any classroom.

I wish you well, and look forward to sharing ideas with you on this site in the upcoming months and years.

Anna Unkovich
Education Director
Pay It Forward Foundation