Let’s Get Started….

Dear OTA Teachers and Parents:

Below you will find a link to a great video from KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) Charter Schools about making Character Education* part of daily life at school …

As you know Coach Rich Curry is joining us this year as Athletic Director and Character Coach, but we’ll all be working to incorporate character education into the classroom using the character strengths Report Card and other ideas introduced in this video.

*Lots of ways to do Character Ed; our model will be based on the 7 Characters Strengths most predictive of success in life. Will your student at age 30 have: a fulfilling job? a stable relationship? a role in their community?… all based on research of Angela Duckworth, Chris Peterson, Martin Seligman; much of it summed up in How Children Succeed)

So please…. watch the 13 minute video to hear more from parents, teachers, and students about each character strength, and learn more about how to incorporate the character strengths into your classroom?

 6 Keys to Helping Kids Develop Character Strengths

1. Believe It and Model It:  We Take Responsibility at OTA for the entire day, for everything that happens on our campus, for every child who grows, or fails to grow.

James Baldwin: “The children are ours. Every single one of them…children have never been very good at listening to their elders but have never failed to imitate them.”

2. Name It: Give the intangible and often unnamed a name. Martin Seligman and Chris Peterson identified 24 character strengths that lead to happy, engaged, and meaningful lives. 7 of these strengths are “high predictive‟ strengths: zest, grit, self-control, hope, love, social intelligence, and gratitude.

As you’ll see in the video, teachers say that putting a name to these strengths helps them coach children, and helps children see what’s helping them succeed and what’s holding them back.

3. Find It: Introducing kids to real-world and fictional examples that display the various character strengths

4. Feel It: Giving kids the opportunity to feel the positive effects of being character-

5. Integrate It: Creating dual-purpose experiences that involve the character strengths

6. Praise It: Providing people with growth mindset praise (i.e. precise, descriptive praise) around character.

Kids don’t want a grade, they want our attention–they want adults who notice when they’re trying: no need for stickers, or gold stars, just say: “Way to go Joe, I’m proud of you, you didn’t give up… That’s Grit!”

  • === Tell your kids the brain is a muscle, it gets stronger the more you use it.
  • === When they say I can’t do it, say “yet.”
  • === When kids have a setback remind them not to fall for the 3 Ps: Taking it Personally, thinking it’s Permanent, and thinking it’s Pervasive (everyone everywhere is in the same boat, there’s no hope).