Blog Post #7
How do you approach character development in your school? What do you do to help your students become more antifragile? How do you teach courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom?
Blog Post #1
Imagine you just won Teacher of the Year for not just the 1st time but the 3rd time in a row, like John Taylor Gatto. What would you talk about with a national platform in regards to education?
I try to do this through various ways. If something doesn't go right with a lesson, I need to start over, or we decide to move on to something else, I always make sure to have a conversation with my students about why we are doing that. In that conversation I don't make a big deal of it, I just try to explain and always mention that teachers are human too. By doing this I want them to see that not everything has to be perfect and that it's ok to make mistakes. I think the biggest way I teach character development is through read alouds. I pick books with characters that they can empathize with. Right now we are reading, Out of My Mind, and the main character has cerebal palsy. The students are so engrossed every time we read it and there are so many lessons on kindness, acceptance, and bullying. It makes for great conversation and it is my hope that they will carry these things with them into other areas of their lives.
ReplyDeleteI approach character development as a set of skills that students learn and practice, just like academic skills. At our school, we use the CARES acronym to teach the “Mustang Way.” CARES stands for Community, Act Responsibly, Respect, and Excellence (the power of yet). Through lessons in our morning protime, students are given real life scenarios and opportunities to reflect on how to show these values in their daily choices. Teaching these core values helps students become more antifragile by encouraging them to learn from challenges, make responsible decisions, and learn through mistakes. Students learn courage when they are encouraged to act responsibly and persevere, even when it is difficult or when others may not be making the right choices. Temperance is developed by teaching students to control their actions, manage their behavior, and to think before they respond to situations. We teach justice through respect, making sure that all students are treated fairly and feel safe to learn. Wisdom is taught by helping students understand what truly matters and by taking care of their community and recognizing that people come first.
ReplyDeleteI approach character development in my school by defining the character traits that I want to see from students such as respect, responsibility, empathy, and Perserverance with the students. Each month, we have a counselor lesson with our school counselor. Many of the lessons that students have with the counselor they go over how we can respect each other, how we can have empathy for others, and how we can preserve through difficult times. Also, in my classroom, I model to students by showing students that I make mistakes even though I’m a teacher, I’m learning with them. I see a lot of my students struggling with preserving through difficult math concepts or tasks, I will watch how they are preserving through the difficult problem and then I will praise them on how they preserved through the problem if they did. For students to become more anti fragile, I always tell them that mistakes are proof that you are trying and that you are learning. With my students, I also teach them calm down strategies that they can use if they do become frustrated such as going to get a drink of water, deep breathing exercises, or taking a break in our take a break chair.
ReplyDeleteHow do you approach character development in your school? What do you do to help your students become more antifragile? How do you teach courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom?
ReplyDeleteOne public school I worked in, worked with the Character Counts program. Kids were recognized when they are showing one of the 6 pillars (trustworthiness, caring, kindness, respect, fairness, and citizenship). Each month we had an assembly in the gym to talk about that month’s pillar. We had a kick off assembly one month and an end of the year celebration assembly as well.
My school right now works on character development each day as we approach our school work. We help them focus on what they can control when things are not working. For example one child struggles with anxiety so we discuss ways to calm ourselves and our nerves as we work on our assignments. Also, we help this child work on breaking things into chunks so they don’t seem like so much all at once.
We teach courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom through our school to work program with the older kids. They have to branch out to different work places and work/job shadow people to learn about their work. With my younger students we try new things outside of their norm from instruments to building things with Lego robotic kits. As they struggle with the new project or dive deep into a project when the really like it I help them walk through their different emotions and build their character and realize that failure is ok.
Character development in my school is perpetuated with student of the month recognition. It is always based on good character -- being caught being good. We also have a philosophy to make our classrooms safe environments to share ideas freely without judgement or ridicule. We have a small school, so building relationships with our kids really helps with communicating character. We know them, we know their families, and we are a village that wants all our kiddos to be GOOD kids.
ReplyDeleteAntifragile -- well I let my kids fail. But, give retakes if they are willing to jump through some hoops to get the opportunity. So they fail within a safety net. Responsibility is on them tho. I also do a lot of group work and let them work through some of their difficulties themselves. We talk about different roles and personalities and how we best can get along with different people. But, I can't be there all the time, so they must learn how to stickup for themselves and deal with some people just not liking them and that being ok.
Stoicism -- we do a lot of journaling in my classroom. Reflection is the most of what we write about. Self-awareness if everything to being a good person. They write about all kinds of injustices in their own world and the bigger one outside of themselves. We do much discussion of moral dilemmas and use What Would You Do videos for discussion. I also show a lot of Hartman's Kindness 101 videos of examples of other kids exercising courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. Trying to make it popular again to do the right thing -- it gets difficult at times when in the times we are seeing leaders doing the opposite.
How do you approach character development in your school? What do you do to help your students become more antifragile? How do you teach courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom?
ReplyDeleteCharacter development in our school is done during a special period each day. The students focus on character traits and citizenship. They have tasks each day, geared toward the trait or outcome of the week. Our program has allowed students to connect with the adults of their choosing. There is a lot more to be done with our character development to make it more meaningful and for the kids to put their skin in the game. Parents could put in some skin, also...but we greatly lack parental involvement. This is not from lack of try on our part.
Anifragile...that's a tough one. We want our students to think for themselves, solve problems and be risk takers. However, so many of our students are scared to make a decision for fear of a mistake, they don't know how to think because at home they are given the answers and things are done for them. Children in my room cannot zip a coat, tie a shoe or put together a puzzle because the second they struggle, someone jumps in to save them. We are working on independence and perseverance to try again. We cannot learn if we don't try. And if we fail...even better... we can try again! And this time we will not do A we will try B and see if that works.
We have to model courage, temperance, justice and wisdom. We need to teach about heroes and what they did and learned to become heroes. We could also make these our four pillars and incorporate interactive activities focused on these pillars.
I think my empathy really helps my students build character. I am able to understand how they are feeling and then point them in the right direction to not let it break them down, but rather build character. I then applaud them when they find a solution, or are recognized for doing something well. I also do this in PE as we do "student athletes of the week" which actually has nothing to do with being athletic- it has more to do with showing good qualities overall (being on time, coming prepared, being kind to others, good sportsmanship etc...)
ReplyDeleteAntifragile: Again, storytelling is my GO TO. when they realize I have been through things, just like them, they start to build a back bone. Showing them I went through hard things and still was able to thrive, gives them hope and encouragement, instead of being fragile and shutting down.
Courage: Complementing my students when they even do the slightest thing well, helps build their confidence. I also tell them about their strengths and where it can take them.
Justice & Temperance: I usually talk about a hero or someone who has done something great based on these two concepts.
Wisdom: Again, I go back to telling them about my life when growing up. I say "If I could do it all again this would be my advice."
In my classroom, I approach character development by creating an environment where every student feels accepted, understood, and safe. I emphasize kindness and respect, and we make it clear that we do not laugh at peers when a mistake happens. Instead, we encourage one another and talk about what we might try differently next time, recognizing that mistakes are part of learning. Helping students become more antifragile means helping them grow stronger through challenges. When something doesn’t work, we focus on problem-solving and trying again rather than giving up. This helps students build confidence and resilience. I teach qualities like courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom through stories, discussions, and everyday classroom moments. We talk about characters in books who show these traits, and I also point out when students demonstrate them in real life—such as being brave when trying something new, showing patience, treating others fairly, or making thoughtful choices. This helps students see how these character traits apply to their own lives.
ReplyDeleteIn a lower elementary classroom, I approach character development by building it into everyday routines, conversations, and learning activities. Young students learn best through modeling, stories, and guided practice. I focus on helping students understand that mistakes, challenges, and problem-solving help them grow stronger. This supports students in becoming more antifragile because they learn to handle difficulties rather than avoid them.
ReplyDeleteTo help students become more antifragile, I encourage productive struggle. When students face a challenging task, I guide them to try different strategies instead of giving the answer right away. I also praise effort, persistence, and problem-solving. For example, during math or reading, I might say, “You kept trying even when it was hard,” or “You found a new way to solve that.” I also normalize mistakes by modeling them and showing how to fix them.
I teach courage by encouraging students to try new things, share ideas, and participate even when they feel unsure. This might look like students reading aloud, attempting a harder book, or sharing their thinking during class discussions. I remind them that being brave means trying, even if they are not perfect.
I teach temperance by helping students practice self-control and patience. This includes waiting their turn, using kind words, managing frustration, and calming down when upset. We practice strategies like taking deep breaths, using quiet voices, and solving problems respectfully.
I teach justice by modeling fairness and empathy. We talk about taking turns, including others, and treating classmates kindly. When conflicts arise, I guide students to listen to each other, explain their feelings, and find fair solutions together.
I teach wisdom by helping students think about their choices and learn from experiences. We reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what we might do differently next time. Through discussion, stories, and daily practice, students begin to make thoughtful decisions and understand the impact of their actions.
I think the most effective way to encourage good character is to first model good character. Lessons on character do very little to actually teach kids to do the right thing even when it is hard. Furthermore, some kids, especially those who may not see themselves as particularly "good" kids don't want anyone pointing it out when they do something that shows good character. If we want to encourage character, adult educators must be models. I would answer the 3rd question in the same way. Trying to be a model of the stoic virtues is the most important thing an educator can do. I also like to let students sit with their choices and try to justify them without any input from me. Often this results in their resolving issues on their own, which is much more effective than my telling them what to think or do after making a a certain choice. In addition, I remember the dynamic of the classroom reflects that of the teacher. If I want a classroom in which justice, wisdom, courage, etc. are shown, I must keep things that threaten such virtues out (i.e. humiliating students, harmful sarcasm, volatile emotions, etc.). I also encourage them to be a community of learners and to help eachother.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of helping my students become more antifragile, they have numerous small stake chances to fail and struggle every day. I try to let the students know that it is ok to not always be comfortable. Growth is indeed uncomfortable sometimes.
How do you approach character development in your school? What do you do to help your students become more antifragile? How do you teach courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom?
ReplyDeleteCharacter development is framed within the character traits we stand for at our school - truth, excellence and virtue. I use this framework for everything I do or I expect my students to do - it's doesn't have to be perfect or completely right - but when completing an assignment - I ask them - was this done with excellence - meaning giving it their best, were they truthful in completing the assignment - not copying others or using an AI source when not permitted and then usually when students can attest to those 2 character traits the virtue is there. As teachers, modeling this is probably one of the most effective ways - if we are expecting our students to stand on these then we must as well. One way to I try help students become more anti fragile - is letting them fail - especially at the middle school level - these are the years -to learn - that forgetting assignments, not adequately preparing for an exam, or some other "crazy" excuse - while they may have consequences - they are not detrimental - especially when we are talking about the the traditional school system and high school GPA's etc - sometimes those are hard lessons to learn - but getting zero in the grade book might help them learn some of those valuable lessons. I actually don't teach courage, temperance, justice and wisdom because I don't believe in the philosophy of stoicism. Stoicism because it removes God from the picture. Stoicics basically take the approach that their fate is in their control - Biblical worldview does not support this. Instead I teach my student to live in relationship with God, trusting him in all circumstances, and be transformed by His grace.