FOR CHARACTER
creating schools and communities for character!
March/April, 2004
An electronic newsletter to help you make sure CHARACTER COUNTS!sm
CHARACTER COUNTS! and the Six Pillars of Character are service marks of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, a project of the Josephson Institute of Ethics. For more information about training opportunities and resources available to assist schools and communities in the integration of a character education initiative, check out their web site at: www.charactercounts.org or call them at 1-800-711-2670.
Welcome to our many new subscribers. Back issues of the For Character Newsletter can be found at www.forcharacter.com
TAKE A MINUTE FOR CHARACTER
PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
CHARACTER COUNTS! LOWER TUITION RATES
COMMENTARY BY MICHAEL JOSEPHSON
TAKE A MINUTE FOR CHARACTER – Gary Smit
Over the past few months, I’ve been doing two-day trainings for the Child and Youth Service (CYS) Division of the US Army. In January, I helped to train, in Los Angeles, the CYS staff from west coast installations. The east coast installation representatives came to Alexandria, Virginia in February for their training. This month, the European Army installations will receive training in Heidelberg, Germany.
I did not know much about the Army, much less the Child and Youth Services Division. With two of the trainings completed and a third being done the second week of March, I have come to learn much about this important division of the Army. Child and Youth Services are in Army installations here in the states and around the world to serve the needs of children and young people. There are 125 locations worldwide, with CYS divisions found in 28 states and 9 countries. There are 461,000 eligible child and youth being serviced in Child Development Centers, Family Child Care Homes, School-Age Centers and Youth/Teen Centers. From programs for infants, to before and after school child care and work with teens, CYS is there for the Army family.
What am I doing training staff of the CYS programs? The US Army has engaged the services of the Josephson Institute of Ethics to train staff at each Army installation on how to integrate CHARACTER COUNTS! into CYS programs. What I have found in working with the CYS staff is how eager and committed these individuals are to the opportunities of making CHARACTER COUNTS! an integral and pervasive element of their programs. There is no doubt that the program will be implemented upon returning to their installations. A memorandum from an Army General made it clear CYS staff would be trained and that CHARACTER COUNTS! implemented within thirty days. There is no debate, dialogue over how full the plate is in CYS programs, or that there is a lack of available time or resources.
This is very different than what I thought would happen after I was trained in CHARACTER COUNTS! in the summer of 1997. On the third day of that training, we were discussing the next steps for CHARACTER COUNTS! in our schools. I had already given this some thought. To me, it made sense that we spend the 97-98 school year studying the issue of character education. If we believed that CHARACTER COUNTS! had merit, the following school year our district would pilot character education at one grade level. If this was successful, we could then expand to other grades. The staff and community members being trained along with me, thought differently. Our schools would begin that next year making CHARACTER COUNTS! the framework used to intentionally teach, enforce advocate and model good character.
What made me think this way? In schools, we tend to want a significant percentage of staffs to “buy in” to any change in program before we proceed. In fact, we often feel the urge to have 100% commitment before we proceed with any addition to our instructional program. That may never occur. Rather, I am convinced that effective leaders need to guide and direct change by encouraging staff to promote ways of improving teaching and learning. Ensuring that the implementation of a character education initiative aligns with the established core beliefs and goals of the school creates a structure upon which staff can integrate principles, processes and practices.
Whether it is the Army or a school district, the commitment from the leader is key. Character education, if it’s not important, why not? If not now, when? If not you, then who? If you can, how? Don’t back down, clamor that it is not our responsibility or say now is not the right time. Just do it!
Gary Smit
In March and April, I will be conducting trainings and giving speeches to a wide range of audiences. The presentations include teacher inservices, an Army training, parent workshop, student leadership, community coalition building, and school board/administrative training.
March 9-10 US Army Child and Youth Service training Heidelberg, Germany
March 13 Keynote Address, Parent Conference, Dixon, Illinois
March 17 Keynote Address at Northeast Character Education Conference, Troy, New York
March 23 School Board Member and Administrative Ethics Training, Visalia, California
March 28 Break-out session at National School Boards Association Conference, Orlando, Florida
April 14 School Board Member and Administrative Ethics Training, Los Angeles, California
April 15 Community Training, Bolingbrook, Illinois
April 17 Rotary Youth Leadership Training, East Troy, Wisconsin
April 30 Teacher Inservice, Alexandria High School, Alexandria, Indiana
The schedule is being made for the 2004-05 school year. If you would like a training or inservice program for your school, district or community, please call or write. gsmit@forcharacter.com
630-426-0334
· Name-Calling A No-No
Sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will break our spirit." This line from James Howe's The Misfits (Simon & Schuster, 2001) sums up how it feels to be teased. The novel has inspired 30-plus organizations--including New Moon Publishing and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network--to designate March 1-5 No Name-Calling Week. Aimed at students in grades five to eight, the event will feature activities to help stop name-calling and verbal bullying of all kinds. www.nonamecallingweek.org
· Student Hazing
Hazing has been a part of membership on athletic teams at the high school, college, and professional levels for decades. However, the violent criminal behavior that occurred on the Mepham High School (N.Y.) varsity football team has forced students, parents, teachers, and school administrators to examine the use of rites of initiation or hazing as instruments for building team camaraderie and morale. As a result of the violent sexual assaults, three varsity players have pleaded guilty to criminal charges, the school's coaching staff has been fired, civil suits by the victims are pending, and a community has been torn apart over who should be held accountable. Sports Illustrated in a special report in its December 22, 2003 edition took an in depth look at the fallout from initiation rites that spiraled out of control. The report contains some valuable guidance from Dr. Norman Pollard director of counseling at Alfred University to school officials and parents on how to prevent hazing. His advice to school officials is: (1) have an anti-hazing policy; (2) develop adult-sponsored initiations; and (3) establish reporting mechanisms. Dr. Pollard encourages parents to stay involved with children's activities, even when they reach the high school level. He also emphasizes that parents must realize they can have an impact by reporting misconduct to the school board or PTA. In an effort to prevent any future incidents, Bellmore-Merrick school district officials have brought in Athletes Helping Athletes, a program on civility. They are also developing a freshman seminar and an anti-hazing unit in physical-education classes. In addition, school district officials have started a graduate-level class in conjunction with Adelphi University, open to all teachers, on responsible behavior for coaches and athletes.
Originally appearing in SI.com; story by Grant Wahl and L. Jon Wertheim. The article, "A Rite Gone Terribly Wrong," is only available online to Sports Illustrated subscribers.]
· Building Character through Literature
A recent article in the Contra Costa Times (Northern California) highlights the value of using literature as a springboard for discussions about ethical behavior and promoting self-reflection and insight. The article describes a character-based literacy program being used in 350 California schools that is helping students examine their own decisions and the value of self-control, respect, and responsibility. You can read the article at http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/education/7715813.htm
For excellent teacher guides on leading ethics-based literature discussions, see the Voices web site at www.voicespublishing.com
· Funding for Social Studies Service Projects
CiviConnections- Constructing the past, creating the future. Grants of $7,500 will be awarded to 33 teams of 3 teachers each (3rd through 12th grade, social studies teachers preferred) in schools or school districts across the nation this June. CiviConnections is a new program of the National Council for the Social Studies funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The grants are intended to support projects that integrate local historical inquiry around a chosen social issue with service-learning. civiconnections@ncss.org
For more info and a downloadable application, go to
http://www.socialstudies.org
· Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR)
ESR teaches young people and adults skills to help them become engaged citizens
in their schools and communities. Their newest website helps teachers take
advantage of "teachable moments" by giving them a fresh supply of classroom
readings and activities on issues in the news. The teaching ideas featured on
TeachableMoment.org encourage inquiry, dialogue and thoughtful reflection on
current issues -- for instance, the 2004 presidential race or U.S. policy in
Iraq. The website also includes an array of teaching ideas to improve students'
skills in conflict resolution and intercultural understanding.
PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Educators generally acknowledge that the quality of a principal’s leadership can have a dramatic effect on student achievement. Now a meta-analysis from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) identifies specific leadership skills that account for this.
The authors (Tim Waters, Robert J. Marzano, and Brian McNulty) found two primary variables affecting whether the principal’s leadership had a positive or negative impact on achievement. The first was whether principals properly identified and focused on improving practices that were most likely to affect student achievement. These included social and emotional variables related to safe and orderly environments, collegiality and professionalism, parent and community involvement, classroom management, and student motivation.
Second, successful principals clearly understood whether or not the change they were leading was an extension of current practice or required a fundamental break with past practice. Principals had a positive impact on achievement when they utilized leadership practices appropriate for these different types of change.
To learn about the key leadership skills and when to use which ones, read the report at http://www.mcrel.org/topics/prouctdetail.asp?topicsid=7&productid=144
NAVIGATING WHOLE-DISTRICT CHANGE: EIGHT PRINCIPLES FOR MOVING AN ORGANIZATION UPWARD IN TIMES OF UNPREDICTABILITY (American Association of School Administrators, The School Administrator Web Edition, Jan. 2004)
In this engaging article author Francis M. Duffy describes eight principles of organizational change. They include:
CHARACTER COUNTS!
LOWER CDS TUITION DEBUTS:
Bargains Abound
The economic downturn has hurt everyone, and to help, the Josephson Institute
has made the Character Development Seminars (CDS) more affordable. First, they
have cut its cost from $895 to $795. This is a reduction of $100, or 11 percent
per person. Moreover, because Coalition members now receive a further 10 percent
discount, the cost for them is $715.
You can save a further $100 by registering 45 days in advance. This
foresightedness cuts the price to $625 ($795 - $100 early-bird rate) x 90
percent member discount). And since in 2004 existing members will receive two
50 percent scholarships, each one can send two people to a CDS for $397 apiece,
one of the lowest prices they have ever offered.
By stringing bargains together, people can create new opportunities. For
instance, a prior CDS graduate can obtain a one-year Coalition membership for
his or her organization at no cost. The organization can then enroll two people
in CDS for $397 apiece, and more for $625 apiece. This is an excellent way to
gain the necessary training for a successful CHARACTER COUNTS! effort. For more
information:
http://www.charactercounts.org/howto/training.htm
COMMENTARY BY MICHAEL JOSEPHSON
THE GUY IN THE GLASS
Years ago I came across a little poem titled "The Man in the Glass" by Dale
Wimbrow. I've never used it in a commentary and having decided to do so, I
looked it up on the Internet and discovered a website maintained by Mr.
Wimbrow's children:
http://www.theguyintheglass.com
It contains the original version as written by their father in 1934 and
published in The American Magazine as "The Guy in the Glass." Here is that
version containing timeless truths about integrity.
The Guy in the Glass
When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.
For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgment upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.
Judging from the devoted words of his children, it's apparent that Mr. Wimbrow
never cheated the guy in his glass.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.