Archive for Character Traits
Justice
Posted 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
Posted 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.
March Character Trait – Self-Reliance
Posted by: | CommentsDuring March Building Good Citizens for Texas emphasizes Self-Reliance.
We define this as “students believing in their own self-worth and learning to rely on their strengths. Students will also demonstrate knowledge of their skills, abilities, and impression on others.”
For the younger children we define it in simpler terms; “Others can depend on me, and I can depend on myself.”
In recent conversations with a high school staff I asked the question, “What does it mean for high school students to exhibit Self-Reliance? Their responses were consistent. Doing your own homework, not relying on friends for answers or homework assignments, depending on yourself to get help when needed are just a few of the responses I received. Others were quick to note that relying on excuses has become too common.
One former teacher described a scenario with three high school seniors. They were in different sections of the same course. When a project paper was collected, the teacher noted that three of the papers were exactly the same; “word-for-word” was his description. The teacher considered the paper worthy of a grade of 90 so he gave each student a 30! Of course the students were outraged. The teacher’s response was “Discuss it with the principal.” Of course that never happened. But the positive outcome was that at least two of these students realized Self-Reliance was now going to be their habit!
For the very young something as simple as tying one’s own shoes is an opportunity to praise Self-Reliance. Learning to write in cursive, mastering skills in soccer, basketball or other sports can be positive examples of becoming self-reliant. Our goal is encouraging students to “do the job” for themselves.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The basis of good manners is self-reliance.”
In other words depending on one’s self leads to not taking advantage of others, practicing common courtesy, and treating others with respect.
When we encourage, praise, or acknowledge students’ responsibility in doing what is expected of them, we build not only their self-reliance but their self-respect as well.
Again, Emerson, “No one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourself.” As educators, we must consistently encourage our students to rely on themselves for achieving the goals they want, whether those goals are short term or long term:
- Teach students the steps necessary to reach goals.
- Encourage students to accomplish difficult tasks by themselves.
- Praise students when they become increasingly independent.
- Assign students responsibilities in the classroom and hold them accountable.
- Work with students to set goals for becoming more self-reliant.
- Be aware of students ability to move to the “next step” in becoming self-reliant and commend that action.
February Character Trait – Justice
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Character Trait - Justice
The Building Good Citizens for Texas character trait for February is Justice. This concept is included in many Character Education Programs. Truly understanding this concept is important because of the different approaches that elementary and secondary students require.
Elementary students may not understand the term Justice, but they certainly understand fair play.
In our Character Education Program we define Justice as “fair and equitable behavior which is consistent with the laws and principles that govern a democratic society”. Much too sophisticated for elementary students, but an appropriate topic for secondary students.
For the secondary student, discussions, book selections, essays, a debate citing instances of justice and injustice are just a few of the possible activities for the secondary classroom.
For elementary students, emphasizing fairness in activities, choosing books demonstrating the consequences of unfair treatment of others, role playing about what it means to play fair, and journaling about a time when a student was treated unfairly are appropriate classroom activities.
Thomas Jefferson stated, “Everyone who asks Justice should do Justice.”
What does that mean in the classroom? Students expect that all teachers will treat each student fairly and with respect. By the same measure, teachers should expect that each student treat their teacher with fairness and respect. We must expect, and insist that each student treat the other students with that same fairness and respect.
As Jefferson maintained, to paraphrase, if you want justice (fairness) then you must exhibit justice. Most educators will admit that some children are easier to teach than others. This reality does not excuse our responsibility to treat every child with Justice. When corrections or consequences are needed, those actions must be the same for all children. They must be fair, in other words those corrections or consequences must be just.
Webster’s Dictionary defines Justice as “reward or penalty as deserved”.
In giving that “reward or penalty as deserved” we are giving a lifelong lesson in the benefits of “fair and equitable behavior”.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, according to Martin Luther King, Jr.
During February as we emphasize Justice with our students and, with our co-workers as well, let’s remember:
• Treat all students fairly.
• Treat co-workers with respect and justice.
• Use the term “Justice” often, and interchangeably with “fairness.”
• Look for examples in the “real world” to give emphasis to the importance of justice.
• Encourage books/stories demonstrating positive outcomes when justice is practiced.
Justice is a critical component of our democratic society. We can encourage strong citizenship in our students by striving in all our activities to practice this character trait with everyone we meet, child and adult alike! I’d love to hear about your experiences and strategies on the topic of Justice.
January Character Trait – Loyalty
Posted by: | CommentsWhat does that mean to you? Loyalty? The dictionary gives us many definitions – faithfulness, devotion, allegiance, constancy, reliability, fidelity, dependability, and more. That certainly covers a wide range of behaviors and responses.
The character education program Building Good Citizens for Texas defines loyalty as “the need to establish personal and career relationships and select causes based on positive ethical principles for which one can remain true.”
How can educators demonstrate that “need” with our students? The critical phrase in that definition is “select causes based on positive ethical principles.” Some infamous gang members have established personal relationships, but usually not based on “positive ethical principles”. Certainly that is not our goal for students! So where do we start?
As is so often the case, we must recognize the importance of modeling the behavior we are trying to form in our students. It may be helpful to ask some questions.
Are we loyal to our peers?
Are we loyal to our administrators?
Are we loyal to our community?
Are we loyal to ourselves as we strive to be the best we can be?
As pointed out at the beginning, as we stress LOYALTY, the positive character trait for January, we need to keep in mind that includes reliability, faithfulness, dependability, devotion, and more! If we are truly Character Educators, we must model that behavior, and help our students embrace it in their daily lives.
November Character Trait – Compassion
Posted by: | CommentsThe character trait for November is Compassion. This trait was designated for November because it ties in easily with the school’s study of the origins of Thanksgiving, and discussion of our observances of that strictly American holiday.
But Compassion means so much more. Building Good Citizens for Texas (an integration based character education program) defines Compassion as “empathy and respect for others in school, life and career settings, accepting the right of all people to be treated with courtesy and dignity”.
From pre-K student to high school, and for adults also, empathy and respect should be expected.
Many of our students have not experienced respectful treatment at home. Some, because of their self-perceived inadequacies are more likely to treat others rudely or condescendingly. John Maxwell maintains, “Hurting people hurt people”. Rude, disrespectful, or belittling behavior or speech have no place in the classroom, on the playground, or in the sports arena. We have an obligation to model respect for students, faculty and support staff. And beyond our modeling, we must treat students as well as coworkers fairly and courteously.
Trust me, I know with some students that is a stretch! But that stretch must still be made. Robert Collier said, “Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself.” Part of our task in teaching Compassion is to help students believe in themselves.
What are some of the strategies you can do to teach Compassion in the classroom on a daily basis?
- Greet each child at the door with at least a smile. Whenever possible, offer a compliment on their smile, or being on time, or any other appropriate “Atta Boy/Atta Girl”. Every child, young or old, can be treated with dignity.
- The concept of positive reinforcement absolutely still works. Whenever the situation allows, praise or compliment a child for doing what he or she is supposed to be doing, i.e. getting homework in on time, speaking at the appropriate time, helping others, etc. Praise works. Belittling, nagging, sarcasm rarely does.
- Discuss with students the reason for each of your classroom rules. It is difficult to obey a rule for which we see no need. It seems many students see no need for most of our rules. We must raise expectations for our students and for ourselves. Students will meet those higher expectations. Note this quote from a 6 year old student, as told by Educator/Author Harry Wong, “My teacher thought I was smarter than I am, so I was!” We must expect our students to show compassion in balancing individual wants with the welfare of the group.
- Know your students. Some of them are coming from very difficult situations. Granted a tough home environment is a challenge for the children, but we have an obligation to help them perform anyway. In other words, part of our work is to know each student, and show them how to rise above what they might think is their best. Compassion is a gentle pushing for excellence.
How can you show November’s Character Trait, Compassion, through your respectful and courteous work with ALL children in your charge?
October Character Trait – Responsibility
Posted by: | CommentsThe character trait for this month is RESPONSIBILITY. We all have our own definition of what that means to us. “Building Good Citizens for Texas” defines responsibility as “moral, legal and mental accountability for choices, regardless of pressures to do otherwise”. When working with very young students, it is suggested that we simply say “Responsibility means doing what I’m supposed to do.”
Bill Maher of television fame said recently “We have the Bill of Rights. What we need is a Bill of Responsibilities.” This is a good reminder that with any right or privilege comes responsibility. A responsibility to accept the privilege properly, to execute that right courteously without bias, and to help others gain their due rights and privileges.
As educators, we have a marvelous opportunity to teach our students the true meaning of responsibility. We are actually doing this whenever we observe our classroom rules, when we require the best from each of our students, when we expect and encourage high standards in students’ work, and when we work as a positive team with all staff.
Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby) stated, “If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders.” Each one of us can determine just how much responsibility should be given to our students. Of course, age is the primary determiner, but perhaps we should ask ourselves, are we expecting the “best” of each of our students? Are we giving our best by encouraging, praising, yes even pushing each student to perform at their highest possible level? What greater responsibility could an educator have than to insist on the best from each and every student? And what greater reward can we have than to see the successes of our students!
Teacher’s Action Plan:
· Are you expecting every student to exhibit responsibility?
· Do you have a system that ensures you will give each student the opportunity to increase their responsibilities in your classroom during the school year?
· Are you setting the example by being responsible in your work with the students and other staff members?
For more information on the Character Traits that Building Good Citizens for Texas focuses on during the school year, visit our Monthly Character Traits page.
Respect in the Classroom
Posted by: | CommentsRecently I was conducting my three-hour “Building Good Citizens for Texas” Teachers & Staff Development class in a small school district in east Texas. Usually I begin by asking the staff to discuss why Character Education is needed in schools today. Over the past several years I have received substantially the same few answers – “kids are not being taught values (some say basic courtesy,) any more”, “ kids are meaner to each other today”, “parents are not involved in the child’s life”, and other responses along those lines.
In this most recent experience, however, when I asked that basic question, “What particular value do you see is most needed in your students?”, three people, almost in unison, responded, “Respect”. What a clear indication of what needed to be done in this district!
Many positive strategies are in place in those schools, teachers were generally positive, and quite involved in our activities that day, but it was apparent that they were not reaching the students in the matter of respect.
I am reminded of the Hal Urban article I recently discussed in this forum. A comment from Dr. Urban was highlighted in that column – “What we accept, we teach!” As we continued to discuss causes for the lack of respect in this east Texas district, it became apparent that students were just not being required to strive for the high standards teachers were expecting of them.
Perhaps we are guilty of a similar “blindness” with some of our students. We all acknowledge that at least some of our students come from pretty tough home situations. It can be easy to excuse a child for a disruption if we know they are struggling even to get to school, let alone be attentive, obedient, and positive about the school experience.
But the “real world” for which we are supposed to be training these children really pays little or no attention to your “tough situation at home”.
High expectations are a critical piece of encouraging respect with our students. Harry Wong, the very successful teacher, author and presenter on Classroom Management, quoted a six-year old student who told him, “My teacher thought I was smarter than I was, so I was! How is that for expectations met? Can’t we correlate high expectations by the teacher to higher academic achievement? Worth a try, don’t you think?
Character education is all about having high and consistent expectations that our students will do what is right. We have a serious obligation to help each and every student to, first of all, know what the right choice is, and then make that right choice a habit. We must expect that all students, as well as the property within our responsibility, are treated with respect. That expectation of respect must become a habit. And a critical piece of forming that habit in the students is our modeling of respect by treating each one of our students with respect. Yes, even when correcting or imposing consequences, we must do so with respect.
School has begun for most of you. How about making RESPECT the theme for your room and for your campus? It WILL make a difference.
HAVE A HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL YEAR!
Character In Action
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The video presented here is one of the most amazing examples of “Character In Action” most of us have seen in recent years. As you watch this video, you will see an incredible example of the hoped-for results of our efforts in teaching character to young people. Granted, this has received national attention because it is just too rare an example of “doing what’s right” as one of the coaches put it. Someone, or several people made a difference in these young women’s lives.
If we truly believe in the importance of character education and integrate that message into all aspects of the school day, we too can make a significant positive difference! We know the right decisions for most of our students. We must be assertive in teaching them that skill.
Let’s commit to making a difference in our students’ lives by
modeling,
talking about values,
praising right decisions, and
respecting all students.
Let’s teach Character In Action
