"Simple acts of kindness" are not so simple. Broidy argues both for the complexity of kindness in action, and for the value of an approach to teachers' relationship with their students and other clients that is rooted in a "sensibility of kindness." Broidy's case for kindness begins by disentangling the concept of kindness from its many near relations. He traces the role of kindness and related concepts in both American educational history and in modern organizations promoting their versions of kindness.

Dr. Broidy is anemeritus professor of education at both Missouri State University andWittenberg University. He lives with his wife Susan, a sculptor, on 3 1/2 acresin Southwest Ohio. He is the author of EarthInside Them, a poetry chapbook; and editor/contributor of From the Tower: Poetry in Honor of ConradBalliet. Dr. Broidy has two children--one a chiropractor in Missouri and theother a wine importer/distributor in California.