Character Development
In 2017, I was inspired by my principal at the time, to start a Character Education program. I was looking for a new challenge, and this was the perfect way to isolate the character lessons I was already incorporating into my other classes, and impact the school's culture in a bigger way. I had a vision for the direction I wanted to take the students in leadership and in overall interpersonal skills, and I ran with it. I developed a curriculum and implemented a weekly class that focused on two character traits per month. I led with a project-based curriculum and incorporated interactive demonstrations, meaningful play, and deep discussion. In addition, we also focused on Growth Mindset lessons once a month. We learned, laughed, and cried and got very familiar with our strengths and with our integrity. In addition to weekly classes, we also held homeroom Monday morning meetings, and a monthly school-wide assembly to introduce new character traits and to recognize students who were nominated by their peers for displaying the previous traits.
Character Development
What is Character Development?
Character development, sometimes referred to as “Character Education”, is an educational movement that supports the social, emotional and ethical development of students. It was the proactive effort of our school to instill in students important core, ethical and performance values such as caring, honesty, integrity, teamwork, perseverance, responsibility, and respect for self and others. This character development program seeks to provide long-term solutions to moral, ethical, and academic issues that are of growing concern in our society and in schools. Character education teaches students how to be their best selves and how to do their best work!
Growth Mindset
What is Growth Mindset?
The growth mindset, developed after decades of research, by world renowned Stanford University Psychology Professor, Dr. Carol Dweck, is the belief that a person’s skill, abilities, and intelligence can be increased through practice, work, and motivation. It is the belief that there is no limit to what a person can learn. When a person puts forth effort and challenges themselves, they are capable of learning more. A growth mindset is critical to school success and linked closely with grit. Research shows that a growth mindset predicts increased academic achievement and can help narrow gaps (e.g., achievement gaps, gender gaps) that may be seen otherwise.
Student Jobs
Taking stake in the school community
In 2018, as an extension of Character Development, I developed a Student Jobs program for our 4th-8th grade students. My students and I collaboratively came up with the jobs we'd like to see in our school's "job market" and then my students went to work creating resumes, and writing persuasive application letters. Teachers and staff reviewed applications, conducted interviews, and wrote offers. Students worked morning, lunch, or end-of-day shifts in roles such as, tutor, teacher assistant, lower school lunch monitor, office helper, etc. This program gave students the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to their school community, and take pride in their work, and the relationships they were able to build there.
