Bastrop County – A County of Character
By · CommentsOn February 28, the Bastrop County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution designating “Bastrop – A County of Character”.
This action follows the designation of “Bastrop – A City of Character” several years ago.
Both of these actions have, as their foundation the K-12 Character Education program, Building Good Citizens for Texas. This program has been in place in all four Bastrop County school districts for several years, as well as in many other schools across Texas.
Each month a character trait is emphasized through a variety of activities. The traits are: Loyalty, Justice, Self-Reliance, Self-Discipline, Integrity, Honor, Patriotism, Respect, Honesty, Responsibility, Compassion, and Perseverance.
The schools accomplish this emphasis through age appropriate strategies, all with the purpose of encouraging students to learn and then practice positive character in their lives.
For the City of Character, County of Character, and local School Board a two-minute presentation is given by a student or an adult citizen describing what the character trait for the month means to them.
Our sincere thanks to the Bastrop County Commissioners and Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald for joining this initiative to encourage the citizens of Bastrop County to focus on the importance of character in the lives of our citizens.
Building Good Citizens, a 501(c)(3) organization is a totally volunteer initiative designed to encourage the inclusion of values into the school day, and to promote recognition of those values in the larger community.
We invite interested citizens to contact us if you would like to be a part of the activities promoting citizenship through the inclusion of character messages in the schools, and in the city and county governments.
Justice
By · CommentsGarrett from Bluebonnet Elementary's 4th grade was asked to speak at the last school board meeting on the topic of Justice. Every month at the Bastrop School Board meetings a student from BISD addresses the school board and attendees on the importance of that month's character trait.
Building Good Citizens for Texas is proud of the great job Garrett did explaining what February's Character Trait "Justice" means to him.
December Character Trait – Perseverance
By · CommentsWebster’s dictionary defines Perseverance this way – “to continue a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.” Personally, I have never known anyone who did not, at some point in their life, have the need to call on perseverance to successfully overcome a situation. What was that situation in your life? Was the need for perseverance called for because of difficulty or opposition? What elements of character did you call on to get you successfully through this difficult time?
As we reflect on situations in our own lives that demanded we “keep on keeping on”, it is important to determine just how we can teach our students that important skill. We all know that giving up, or just seeing a goal as unattainable for us is the easy way out. Our task is to demonstrate with our students that the easy way usually does not bring us the hoped-for results. Whether it is persevering with homework, studying for a test, practicing an athletic skill or a pursuit in the arts, PERSEVERANCE counts!
Lee Iococca, highly successful CEO of General Motors, said: “Don’t go spending your whole life commiserating that you got the raw deals. You’ve got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it.
It’s called PERSEVERANCE!”
How are we modeling perseverance for our students? What more can we do or say to positively encourage each student to keep on trying when it is so much easier to quit? Are you giving that positive word or a pat on the back when you see the signs of giving up? Not punishing, not criticizing or nagging, but encouraging that student.
Have you told your “story” to your students? Consider a time in your life when you really wanted to quit trying. What made you continue until you succeeded? Tell the students your story, and share the positive outcome of that experience because you were willing to persevere.
Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, said “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
Anyone associated with public education today recognizes the increased demands on educators, and the challenges those educators face every day. Encouraging perseverance in colleagues can be as important for the overall climate of the school as the encouragement of our students. Are we encouraging our peers to persevere when they “have had it with Johnny”? Perseverance, especially when it is emphasized in December as it is in our program Building Good Citizens for Texas, presents added challenges. Teachers are anxious to prepare family or home or trip plans for the holidays.
Practicing PERSEVERANCE, and encouraging that character trait in others – students and peers alike, can be a true “classroom life-saver”.
Remember, when you see a person on the
top of a mountain, he didn’t fall there!
List three ways in which you can teach and practice PERSEVERANCE! You, as well as your students and your peers will all benefit.
Proof- Integrated Character Education Programs Work!
By · CommentsI was very encouraged to read a recent report in Journal of Research in Character Education that provides sound evidence indicating the effectiveness of including the character education teaching and modeling of values into all aspects of the school day.The integration of character education into the "whole" student experience is the vital difference that Building Good Citizens for Texas promotes.
Find out more how Building Good Citizens uses the very same techniques to integrate Character Education that the Journal of Research in Character Education recommends.
Back to School Thoughts for Teachers
By · CommentsFor many of you, today or very soon is the first day of school for the 2009-2010 year. We wish you success with your students, and a positive experience for you as well.
As you greet your students and begin to set your personal standards in the classroom and across the campus, please remember that you are a part of one of the most important professions in this country. Character in the classroom is critical not just to your success, but to the success of your students, both academically and behaviorally.
Your modeling of appropriate behavior, attention to detail, and general courtesy are powerful messages in the education process. It is appropriate at this time, to quote again a great message from Dr. Haim Ginott, a former Child Psychologist and Teacher:
“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.”
You are an educator because you want to teach. You will share not only your academic knowledge, but your values, your opinions and your philosophy of life. You cannot help but make difference in a student’s life.
Our hope for you is that you will in all situations be “an instrument of inspiration”.
Have a wonderful school year, and continue to
THINK CHARACTER!
May Character Trait – Integrity
By · CommentsIntegrity – the character trait that summarizes and includes all the character traits being emphasized during the school year. Even Webster’s Dictionary defines integrity as “completeness, wholeness, or soundness” All those definitions lead to our choice of Integrity for our Character Education program as the final trait before school dismissal for the summer break.
W. Clement Stone states “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with Integrity”.
Those three examples are a summation of what we hope to accomplish with our students. If each of our students could honestly say they are able “say no, face the truth, and do the right thing” consistently, what a different classroom environment we might have.
Think of a significant person in your life. What is it about him or her that made an impression on you? Were they always honest? Were they dependable? Did they understand your failings, and help you to grow from such experiences?
Buckminster Fuller, with his varied background as engineer, inventor, designer, and architect stated, “Integrity is the essence of everything successful”.
If we hope to encourage and promote integrity in our students we must model it for them. Especially at this time in the school year, it is often easy to be less than patient with some students. But isn’t it in just such situations that we are called on to be true “persons of integrity”?
Reviewing what we have emphasized during the school year – Honesty, Responsibility, Compassion, Perseverance, Loyalty, Justice, Self Reliance, and Self Discipline is an opportune time to wrap those character messages in the mantle of Integrity.
It is also a marvelous opportunity to share with the students the progress each has made in each of these character traits.
Some brainstorming ideas for our final character trait for the year –Integrity
- Ask students to give a short definition of each of the traits.
- Encourage them to give an example of a classmate who has grown in any of these traits.
- Discuss the difference it has made when students take the character message seriously
- Compose a class Letter to the Editor for the local paper outlining some of the highlights of “Character Improvement in Our Classroom.”
- If appropriate, have a Character Celebration with Integrity as the theme, emphasizing how that concept embodies all the other traits we have focused on during the year.
Parker J. Palmer reminds us, “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique. Good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher”.
April Character Trait – Self Discipline
By · CommentsSelf Discipline – demonstrating positive patterns of behavior and having the strength of mental and moral courage to accomplish tasks, manage time, and relate effectively with others.
That’s our definition! What’s yours? For the perennial dieter, it might include the discipline to refuse that favorite food. What might it mean for the person dissatisfied with their job, but afraid to leave it in this challenging economic climate?
The writer William Hazlitt tells us “Those who can command themselves, command others.” Modeling self discipline can be a powerful tool in teaching students the importance of Self Discipline. Don’t hesitate to talk about the times when you may not have wanted to do what your job requires. Follow that discussion with the reasons it is important to do what we are supposed to do, and being accountable for accomplishing tasks given to us.
Self Discipline should receive significant emphasis in our work with young people. Completing assigned work on time, doing a chore even though we don’t want to, following directions when we think we have a better way are all situations students may encounter every day.
David Whitman writing about the achievement between white and minority students in inner city schools, discusses the “new paternalism.” In the schools examined for his Sweating the Small Stuff, when teachers took a more paternalistic stance with students, the academic improvements were remarkable. “These schools’ success points to the weakness of progressive education and the strength of traditional moral education.” Whitman encourages educators to join such enthusiasts as Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in praising paternalistic schools.
A strong element in achieving the gains shown in these paternalistic schools is the emphasis on self discipline. Students are exposed to rigorous course work, and expected to not only achieve, but to excel. Is there any reason every educator could not implement such a strategy?
The late Paul Harvey said “Self government won’t work without self discipline in America.” The ultimate purpose of education is molding good citizens for America. We must help students achieve that goal by our modeling self discipline, and by assisting students to make self discipline a habit for life.
The results cited above should encourage us to:
• Expect achievement from every student
• Hold every student accountable for tasks given to them
• Model self discipline in a variety of settings
• Discuss with students the benefits of practicing self discipline
• Encourage students to talk about self discipline with family
Remember – Following the path of least resistance is what makes people and rivers crooked!
Think Self Discipline!
