When one of her students approached her to tell her she’d been bullied about her natural curls, Brazillian teacher Ana Barbara Ferreira decided to take matters into her own hands. After a student came to her in tears and confided in her that a young boy had called her curls “ugly”, Ms. Ferreira knew she wanted to do something to help her student feel confident about her hair. She started by telling her student that no matter what anyone else said, she was beautiful and should ignore what others had to say about her hair. While her words comforted the young girl in the moment, she felt as though there was more she could do to create a lasting impact.
Ms. Ferreira decided that comforting words weren’t enough and that as a teacher, she had an opportunity to show her students the right way to interact with one another. The next morning, she walked into school sporting the hair style her students favored, which was two little ponytails tied up on the crown of her head to create two small, curly buns. The look was an immediate hit with her students, particularly the young girl who’d been bullied. She ran right up to her teacher and was overjoyed to see that they were sharing the same look that day.
Her act of compassion was widely praised not only in her hometown of Sao Paulo, but all over the world as more people shared her post about the situation that took place. Friends, family and even strangers have congratulated Ms. Ferreira on the lesson of kindness she shared with her students, particularly about how she went out of her way to instill confidence in her young students. Ms. Ferreira hopes that by raising awareness about natural hair and showing others that curls are beautiful, little girls won’t have to go through what she and her peers did as children. To read more about Ms. Ferreira and her students, click here. Do you have any curly heroes? Let us know in the comments below.