It was uplifting to read about the empathy a kindergarten teacher in Willis, Texas had for her student. When 5-year-old Priscilla Perez was bullied by classmates, 31-year-old teacher Shannon Grimm took an unusual action. She cut off her waist length hair to show support for the bullied child.

The teacher noticed that Priscilla seemed sad and withdrawn. Upon questioning the little girl, Ms. Grimm learned it was because other kids were making fun of her new short haircut by taunting her and saying ‘she looked like a boy.’

There is no age limit on meanness, apparently. To combat her anxiety, Priscilla wore a hat to class every day and refused to remove it.

When school resumed after the winter break, the teacher returned with a pixie cut that mimicked Priscilla's hairstyle and confronted the bullies by telling them,  ‘I think I look beautiful. Don't you think I do?"

Not only did she cut her waist length hair, but the teacher also bought multiple matching bows for Priscilla and her to wear to school.

Needless to say, the compassionate gesture had a huge impact on Priscilla.

According to Ms. Grimm, the child's confidence shot through the roof – and the haircut did not just help her student's self-esteem: it taught her a valuable life lesson, too.

Priscilla told Ms. Grimm: “When I get big like you, I will have friends who will be mean to me, but I will be nice to them just like you.”

Ms. Grimm made me think of my first grade teacher Mrs. Taylor, whose kindness I will never forget—even after many decades.

I was a 6-year-old first grader at PS 117 in New York. My family had recently arrived from London, England and my Dad was redoing his medical residency so we could relocate to the U.S.

My parents were wonderfully supportive but unbeknownst to them, the kids in school began to bully me mercilessly. Why? It was simply because I had a British accent and they said I was ‘weird’ and ‘different.’ Ironically, I would love to have my accent back as I love the sound of it.

I blamed myself for the bullying and didn’t tell my Mom, Dad or siblings. But they knew something was up when I started to throw up from nerves every day and my poor mother had to keep picking me up from school.

When I finally told my teacher what was happening and cried in her arms, she hugged me and said, "You are not different, you are special!” Those words of kindness have stayed with me all these years. I cannot emphasize how much this lovely woman contributed to my life. I stopped getting sick in school and went on to become friends with every single child in that classroom. And I started to write to express my feelings. Acts of kindness really do go a very long way.