When you meet Kelley Perotti, with her beaming smile and welcoming presence, you feel like you’ve known her forever. She has a way of hanging on to your every word and making you feel like you’re the most important person in the room.
Kelley is an elementary school motivational speaker focusing on the life-changing power of kindness.
Growing up in a military family, Kelley attended eight schools. She had being ‘the new kid’ down to an absolute science. From the moment she was introduced to the principal, meeting her teachers to feeling the glare from all the other students as she walked the halls.
But there was one school – more so one group of students that threw her ‘new kid’ routine for a loop. It was a simple act of kindness by the official ‘Friend Makers’ of her new school.
Kelley was invited to attend a martial arts class. Little did she know that the simple invite to martial arts would genuinely change the course of her life. Now Kelley holds a 5th-degree black belt in martial arts, is a 3rd-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, holds a World Title, and owns her own martial arts studio where she trains hundreds of students to strive for greatness.
SPEAKING TOPICS:
Three Essential Traits for Kids: Kindness, Bravery, and Strength
With her years of experience teaching martial arts, Kelley has developed a unique approach to connecting with students. She enjoys imparting to kids the significance of kindness and how every small act of kindness can make a difference. With her personal experiences, she emphasizes the impact of kindness and how it has positively influenced her life.
Kelley motivates students to use their power of kindness to make a difference in others’ lives. She acknowledges that being kind may require courage and bravery, which takes confidence and strength. Kelley instills in students that being kind, brave, and strong are essential traits that will shape them into better individuals.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Empathy and Compassion: Encouraging students to develop compassion and empathy towards those around them, helping them identify opportunities to make a difference through kindness and by lending a helping hand.
- Courage and Resilience: Teaching students to be courageous and resilient when faced with challenges. Encouraging them to try new things, lend a hand to a classmate, stand up for their convictions, and persevere through tough times.
- Self-Confidence: Instilling self-belief in students and encouraging them to be assertive, building their confidence to stand up for others and offer help when no one else is willing to.
Kelley, an experienced Martial Arts teacher, has a unique ability to captivate students of all ages. In this speech, she emphasizes the importance of kindness, a quality that has the potential to impact ourselves and those around us positively. With so many distractions, it’s easy to overlook the tangible significance of kindness. Kelley inspires middle school students to choose kindness and to help others, highlighting the contagious nature of kindness.
Drawing on her personal experience as a World Champion in martial arts, Kelley shares with the students that her success would not have been possible without the kindness of her team. She encourages students to realize that every action they take can positively or negatively impact others’ lives. Kelley urges them to embrace the power of kindness and to uplift others, especially in times of need. Through her words, Kelley inspires middle schoolers to make kindness an integral part of their lives and make a difference in their world.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Developing Empathy: Students will gain an understanding of the importance of showing kindness towards others, including strangers, friends, and family. They will learn how simple acts of kindness can have a positive impact on their lives and the lives of those around them.
- Practicing the Power of Kindness: Students will identify ways to cultivate a culture of kindness by being empathetic, respectful, and supportive of others. They will actively seek out opportunities to help and support those around them, making kindness a part of their daily routine.
- The Power of a Supportive Team: Students will learn that accepting kindness can sometimes be difficult. They will understand that when others want to help, it is a gift, and that gift can make a real difference in their lives. They will be encouraged to accept kindness with gratitude and to pay it forward by being kind to others.
Culture of Kindness: Strategies for a Learning Environment That Fosters Student Growth & Achievement
In this speech, Kelley draws on her 25 years of teaching martial arts to inspire kids to succeed. While martial arts is a physical sport, obtaining a black belt involves character development, resilience, and drawing out each individual’s personal best. Kelley uses a fun and evidence-based approach to inspire educators to make learning and achieving goals engaging for their students.
She acknowledges that her job as a martial arts instructor is distinctly different from that of an educator but notes that there are applicable correlations. Kelley aims to leave educators excited and motivated to work towards making the world a better place “ONE CHILD AT A TIME.”
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- The Power of Moments: Gain an understanding of how positive reinforcement can be used to motivate and inspire students to achieve their goals, and learn effective techniques for using praise, recognition, and rewards to encourage positive behavior and effort.
- Building Resilience in Students: Identify specific techniques for helping students develop self-confidence, self-discipline, and resilience, including setting achievable goals, providing constructive feedback, and modeling positive behavior and attitudes.
- Teaching with Heart: Develop strategies for creating a positive and supportive learning environment that promotes collaboration, respect, and a growth mindset, and engage students in meaningful and challenging activities that foster creativity and problem-solving skills.
