Back in March 2020, the world basically hit a brick wall. Schools shut down, offices turned into kitchen tables, and Steve Hartman—the guy you usually see telling heartwarming "On the Road" stories for CBS News—found himself stuck at home with two bored kids. He didn't just give them a tablet and hope for the best. Instead, he started a little experiment called Kindness 101 Steve Hartman.
It was supposed to be a temporary fix for the pandemic. Honestly, most of us thought we'd be back to normal in a month. But here we are in 2026, and the "class" is still in session. What started as a Facebook Live stream from a basement has evolved into a full-blown curriculum used in thousands of classrooms across the country.
The Teacher, the Kids, and the Basement
The setup is pretty low-tech. You've got Steve, his son Emmett, and his daughter Meryl. They aren't reading from dry textbooks or memorizing dates of obscure battles. Instead, they’re digging into the CBS archives to find people who actually "mastered" things like character and empathy.
It works because it's not preachy. Steve isn't some guru standing on a mountain telling you to be a good person. He’s a dad who realized that his kids were missing out on the most important lessons because they were stuck behind screens. He used his day job—finding the best in humanity—to teach his own family what matters.
The kids are the secret sauce. Emmett and Meryl aren't polished actors. They’re real. They ask the questions actual kids ask. They get bored, they laugh, and they sometimes look like they’d rather be playing video games, which makes the whole thing feel authentic. You aren't watching a produced corporate training video; you’re watching a family figure out how to be better humans.
What Kindness 101 Steve Hartman Actually Teaches
If you think this is just about being "nice," you’re missing the point. Being nice is easy. Being kind is a skill. The series breaks down big, heavy concepts into digestible bites. We’re talking about things like:
- Grit: Not just "trying hard," but the relentless pursuit of a goal when everything is going wrong.
- Fortitude: Having the mental strength to face adversity without crumbling.
- Empathy: Truly seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, even if you’ve never walked in their shoes.
- Service: The idea that your life is better when you’re making someone else’s life better.
Take the story of Carl Allensworth. He was a mechanic who wanted to be a doctor. Most people would say that’s a nice dream and then get back to fixing cars. But Carl had grit. He went back to school in his 40s. He struggled through biology. He eventually got that degree. When Steve shares stories like that, he’s showing kids that character isn't a personality trait you're born with. It’s a muscle you build.
The Power of "Orbisculate"
One of the most fascinating episodes involved a made-up word: "orbisculate." A man’s father had used the word his whole life to describe the accidental squirt of juice from a grapefruit or orange. After he passed away, his children went on a mission to get the word into the dictionary to honor him.
Steve used this to teach about legacy and honoring ancestors. It sounds heavy, right? But the way he frames it in Kindness 101 Steve Hartman makes it about love and persistence. He shows how a family’s inside joke turned into a national movement. It’s about the ripple effect. One small action, one weird word, can change things.
Why Teachers are Obsessed with This
Go into any elementary school today and there’s a decent chance you’ll see Steve’s face on a smartboard. CBS News eventually partnered with "Character Counts!" to turn these segments into a formal K-12 curriculum.
It’s complimentary. It’s easy to use.
But more than that, it fills a gap.
Teachers are under a mountain of pressure to hit test scores and standards. There isn't always time to talk about "tact" or "reverence." By providing a 5-minute video and some discussion prompts, Steve gave teachers a way to sneak the "human" stuff back into the school day.
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A Different Kind of News
Most news is exhausting. It’s a 24-hour cycle of "look how bad things are." Steve Hartman has spent decades doing the opposite. He finds the guy who buys shoes for a bullied classmate or the woman who offers free haircuts to the homeless.
When he brings these stories into Kindness 101 Steve Hartman, he’s giving people—not just kids—permission to believe that the world isn't actually falling apart. It’s a mental health break disguised as a lesson.
Some critics might say it’s "toxic positivity." You know, the idea that we’re just ignoring the real problems of the world to focus on puppies and hugs. But if you actually watch the segments, you'll see they don't ignore the problems. They focus on the response to the problems. They acknowledge the grief, the poverty, and the unfairness, then they show someone who decided to do something about it anyway. That’s not toxic; that’s practical.
How to Actually "Do" Kindness 101
You don’t need a TV crew to follow Steve’s lead. The whole philosophy is built on three basic pillars that anyone can use at home or in the office.
First, you have to Notice. Most of us are too busy looking at our phones to see the person struggling with their groceries or the coworker who looks like they’re about to have a breakdown. Steve’s stories always start with someone noticing a need.
Second, you have to Act. Noticing isn't enough. Thinking "man, that's a shame" doesn't help anyone. The heroes in these stories are the ones who took the awkward first step. They bought the coffee. They wrote the note. They showed up.
Third, you have to Reflect. This is what the "101" part is all about. Steve sits down with his kids and asks, "Why did that matter?" or "How would you feel in that situation?" If you don't talk about it, the lesson doesn't stick.
The Impact on the Hartman Family
Interestingly, this project changed Steve’s relationship with his own kids. He’s admitted in interviews that before the pandemic, he was just the guy who went away on trips and came back with stories. Through Kindness 101 Steve Hartman, he became their teacher. He had to defend his own lessons to his children.
It made the family closer. It also made his kids more aware of their own behavior. If you’re the face of a national kindness campaign, you probably think twice before being a jerk to your sibling.
Actionable Steps for Your Own "101"
If you want to bring a bit of this energy into your life, you don't have to wait for Friday's "CBS Mornings" segment.
- Watch together: Pick one segment from the archive. They’re all over YouTube and the CBS website. Don't just watch it as background noise. Sit down with your kids or your partner and actually pay attention.
- Ask the "Hard" Question: After the video, ask: "When was a time you weren't like the person in this story?" It’s easy to say "I'd do that too." It’s much harder—and more valuable—to admit when you failed to be kind.
- The Weekly Challenge: Pick a theme, like "appreciation." For the next seven days, everyone in the house has to find one person to show appreciation to, specifically someone who usually gets ignored (the janitor, the bus driver, the person at the checkout).
- Create a "Gratitude Library": Steve uses the CBS archives. You can use your phone. Start a shared photo album where you only post photos of people doing good things you saw that day.
We spend so much time teaching kids how to code, how to solve for $x$, and how to write a five-paragraph essay. Those are fine skills. But Kindness 101 Steve Hartman reminds us that if you’re a genius who is also a jerk, the world hasn't really gained much.
The goal isn't to be perfect. Steve isn't perfect, and his kids certainly aren't. The goal is just to be a little bit more intentional about the "invisible forces" like grit and empathy that actually keep society from spinning out of control.
Next time you’re scrolling through a feed of bad news, take five minutes and find a Kindness 101 clip. It won't fix the world's problems, but it might just give you enough fuel to go fix one small problem in your own neighborhood.