"Compassion Project" at Decorah High School teaches it's good to do good deeds

When people treat each other kindly, they make better decisions.  That's the simple premise behind the "Compassion Project," a program started this school year at Decorah High School.

HS Principal Kim Sheppard saw a similar project at the Pumphouse in La Crosse, where over 6,000 La Crosse K-12 art students used 6-inch-by-6-inch tiles to draw or paint their idea of compassion.

The project started after University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology and psychiatry professor Dr. Richard Davidson, a brain researcher, found that those who practice compassion have measurably healthier brains, and generally, a happier outlook on life.

At Decorah High School the project has taken a different turn.  Social Studies and Psychology teacher Tyler Balow used Dr. Davidson's book, "The Emotional Life of the Brain," in one of his classes.  He admits the students weren't excited at first, seeing the project as just one more job to do, "but as we got going..students could see the benefits in their lives."

Choral Music teacher Jason Rausch used the concept as the centerpiece of a March 4th concert and also asked students in his classes to write about an act of compassion in their lives.

Decorah High School students Gara Lonning and Leah Davis have been leaders in promoting the program among students.  Sheppard says the program has worked well this year and school officials plan to continue it next year.

For a look at another school district that has adopted "The Compassion Project," visit http://www.appletoncompassion.org/ for information about the Appleton, Wisconsin program.