the goodness factor

acts of goodness · trees · grades 9-12

every kind of good, at every age.

What counts as an act of goodness, what it’s worth, how it’s checked, and how a child can always find the way back. Showing the examples for trees, ages 15 to 18.

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domains
7
domains
categories
21
categories
age groups
4
age groups
a seed of goodness!

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goodness grows with the child

The same seven domains at every age. The examples grow up as the child does.

showing trees, ages 15–18 · grades 9-12. entry by self, teacher, mentor.

domain 01

#peace

peace (ahimsa)

harming no one, in word or deed.

Mohanji: everybody gets five points for non-violence; picking up a fight is very easy, preventing is very difficult. Book Ch 4.

  • 01harmony

    +5 a week
    • A week without hitting, hurting or unkind words

  • 02peacemaker

    +10
    • Led a peace circle
    • Trained younger mediators

  • 03kind words

    +10
    • Led a respectful-speech effort in the school

  • 04including others

    +10
    • Designed an event everyone could join

sustained effortsTwo weeks as class peace helper; A month of sitting with a child who is often alone

initiativesA peer-mediation program; An anti-bullying circle; A kindness campaign with measurable reach

domain 02

#sharing

sharing and generosity

giving what you have, freely.

Mohanji: somebody doesn't have food, you share the food; somebody doesn't have paper, the pencil, share the pencil.

  • 05food and water

    +10
    • Organized a community meal

  • 06things

    +10
    • Organized a donation drive with a real beneficiary

  • 07time and knowledge

    +10
    • Ran a tutoring or skills program

sustained effortsTwo weeks of helping the same classmate with reading; A month of bringing water for the class plants and the birds

initiativesA sharing shelf; A book bank; A tutoring program

domain 03

#compassion

kindness and compassion

noticing someone who needs you.

Book Ch 2: acts of compassion, generosity, and cooperation. Mohanji: being connected, being loving.

  • 08comforting

    +10
    • Started a peer-support circle

  • 09caring for the vulnerable

    +10
    • Sustained volunteering with the sick, the elderly or the differently-abled

  • 10welcoming

    +10
    • Hosted visitors or exchange students

sustained effortsA week as a new student's buddy; A month of visiting an elder

initiativesA buddy system for newcomers; A regular elder-visit program

domain 04

#respect

respect and etiquette

treating people and places well.

Mohanji: like in Japan, they always do with both hands, they respect you. The core of the first two years.

  • 11courtesy

    +10
    • Hosted an appreciation event for staff

  • 12patience and listening

    +10
    • Facilitated a meeting so every voice was heard

  • 13shared spaces

    +10
    • Ran a campus upkeep project

sustained effortsA week of classroom cleaning duty done without reminders; Two weeks of greeting every adult properly

initiativesA clean-classroom system the class runs itself; A staff appreciation week

domain 05

#honesty

honesty and integrity

telling the truth, even when it’s hard.

Book Ch 2: honest communication. Ch 7: owning a mistake is the start of restoration.

  • 14truth and owning mistakes

    +10
    • Led an honor-code effort

  • 15fairness and promises

    +10
    • Ran a fair process such as a class election

sustained effortsTwo weeks of honest self-reporting on homework; A term of fair refereeing

initiativesA lost-and-found system; An honor code the students write

domain 06

#nature

care for nature and animals

looking after every living thing.

Mohanji: taking care of animals, birds, environment, plantation; something which nurtures nature. Book Ch 10.

  • 16animals and birds

    +10
    • Volunteered at a shelter
    • Coordinated a rescue

  • 17plants and trees

    +10
    • Ran a community green project

  • 18clean earth and water

    +10
    • Led a plastic-free or water-saving campaign

sustained effortsWatering plants daily for two weeks; A week of reusable bottles for the whole class

initiativesA school garden; A bird-water project across the school; A neighborhood cleanup with a before-and-after record

domain 07

#service

service and responsibility

doing your part, and a little more.

Mohanji: supporting the fellow students. Book Ch 2: volunteerism, mentoring, and social service; Ch 6: children suggest and implement local initiatives.

  • 19duties and home

    +10
    • Held a responsibility role for a semester

  • 20community service

    +10
    • Sustained service with a local organization

  • 21initiatives and mentoring

    +10
    • Led a project with real beneficiaries
    • Mentored younger students for a semester

sustained effortsA month of reliable class duty; A term of weekly mentoring

initiativesAnything in category 21 at Saplings and above; the book's Meena is the model

examples are a guide, not a checklist. any real act of goodness counts.

goodness points

what an act is worth

The 5 and the 10 are Mohanji’s, the same in every school.

  • +5

    harmony · weekly

    A week in which the child harmed no one in word or deed.

  • +10

    everyday act

    A single witnessed act in any category.

  • -10

    deduction

    An act that harmed someone. Proportionate; recorded only by the head of the school after a complaint has been given and checked. The counselor opens the way back.

  • -25

    deduction, serious

    Violence, bullying or deceit. Recorded the same way, by the head of the school after a checked complaint.

  • ↺

    restoration

    Completing the Four-Way flow and the restorative acts returns the deducted points.

who verifies an act

For trees, ages 15–18:

  • TTeacher-witnessed
  • PPeer nomination, confirmed by a teacher
  • SSelf-logged with reflection, verified by a teacher or mentor
  • FFamily act, verified by a parent; larger acts by the community. Recorded at family level.

badges per category

They mark what a child does, never their rank.

  • lleaf3 witnessed acts in the category
  • fflower10 witnessed acts in the category
  • ffruit25 witnessed acts in the category

when something goes wrong

harm costs points. the way back is always open.

A deduction is recorded only by the head of the school, after a complaint is checked. The counselor opens the way back.

  • hurting anotherminor · -10

    Hurtful words, Teasing, Taking or breaking another's things, Excluding someone on purpose.

  • violence, bullying, deceitmajor · -25

    Hitting, Repeated bullying, Lying that harms someone, Cheating.

  • harm to animals or natureminor · -10

    Hurting an animal, Deliberately damaging plants, Deliberate littering or waste.

  • neglect of responsibilityminor · -10

    Repeatedly abandoning an agreed duty that others depended on.

the way back

Restoration returns the deducted points and does not exceed them. Both stay in the ledger; visibility is private by default. The Four-Way flow:

  1. samam · peaceful persuasion
  2. danam · encouragement and reward
  3. bhedam · constructive correction
  4. dandam · compassionate consequence

restorative acts

  • Counseling conversation and a drawn or written 'what I will do next time'
  • Apology plus repair: fix, replace or clean what was damaged
  • A week of helping the person who was harmed
  • Teaching younger children what was learned
  • Service to the class or school connected to the harm
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