NEWS YOU CAN USE
News & Notes for those who Care and Share!
•References •Resources •Research •Ramblings
March 2017 – Issue 3
Editor: Ed DeRoche
Co-Editor: Serena Pariser
Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her, but once they are in hand, he
or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.
Heredity deals the cards, but environment plays them.
~Voltaire Cronbach
A REMINDER
We have often used the umbrella as a metaphor for helping students, parents, and
educators better understand and appreciate the character education initiatives in
schools and at home is all about. The HANDLE of our character education
umbrella represents the core virtues of respect, responsibility, caring, courage,
civility, compassion, self-discipline, and empathy.
Most umbrellas have EIGHT PANELS. In this metaphor, each of the eight panels tells
us how we develop, nurture, foster, teach, and promote the core virtues IN THE
HANDLE, such as:
1) emotional learning, (2) social skill development, (3) character strengths, (4)
critical & creative thinking skills,
(5) relationships and partnerships, (6) school culture,
(7) classroom climate, and (8) academic achievement.
Three Questions: You probably are familiar with TV advertising that focuses on a
central question. Examples: What’s in your wallet? (Capital One) Where’s the beef?
(Wendy)
What’s under your school’s character education umbrella?
What’s working? What needs to be improved?
4 LINKS IN SEARCH OF READERS
Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich
diversity of
our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways
of being human.
UNESCO Declaration of Principles on Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org/about
Heroes - Teaching about Unsung Heroes allows my students to
see that they can be heroes too—in their communities, our
nation and the world.
---- Middle School Teacher
http://lowellmilkencenter.org/unsung-heroes-projects/
Strengths - VIA Institute on Character is a non-profit
organization dedicated to bringing the science of character
strengths to the world.
http://www.viacharacter.org
Teaching Empathy -- 4 Proven Strategies
Help your students understand the perspectives of other
people with these tried-and-tested methods
https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-proven-strategiesteaching-empathy-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers
SOFT SKILLS
Teamwork- Communication – Leadership – Problem-solving –
Initiative – Self Regulation
Infusing important soft skills in traditional academic courses
can improve employability among black youth….The strongest
predictor of hiring…students were ratings of student maturity
and communication skills.
What can schools do? The answer: see this reference.
Barton J. Hirsch, “Wanted: Soft Skills for today’s jobs.”
KAPPAN, V98 N5, February 2017. kappanmagazine.org
4 THINGS TO DO TO CELEBRATE WOMEN’S HISTORY
MONTH
Knopf,
+ Go to the movies—see Hidden Messages
+ Read Lab Girl by Hope Jahren (2006), New York:
+ View PBS American Experience: Maya Angelou
+ Watch the undefeated University of Connecticut
Women’s basketball team win the National NCAAW
championship
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Character Education – Improve Student Performance
In a section labeled “Editor’s Picks,” the editor offers links to
several reports that address character education in schools
and communities.
https://www2.ed.gov/teachers/how/character/edpicks.jhtml
At the above link you will find many articles. Here are three of
my favorites: Evaluating Character Education Interventions,
What Works: Character Education, and Partnerships in
Character Education Programs.
SCHOOL-BASED BULLYING
+ 3 Types = physical, social/relational, and verbal.
+ Dropped from 28% to 22% during last decade.
+ Research shows that anti-bullying assemblies, speakers, and
campaigns are not effective at preventing bullying, nor are
zero-tolerance policies that remove students from school and do
not address the underlying causes of bullying behavior. Center
for Research & Reform in Education, Best Evidence in Brief,
John Hopkins University.
+ Cyberbullying is a continuing challenge.
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/new-datashow-decline-school-based-bullying
FREE RESOURCES
March is Women’s History Month
https://www.teachervision.com/holidays/womens-historymonth
February Blogs
Ed- Performance and Moral Character
Serena- Here’s an Idea: Kindness Meters
DON’T MISS THIS! SAVE THE DATE! June 22 & 23, 2017
Theme: The ESSENCE of CHARACTER
++ Emotional Intelligence ++ Social Skills &
Relationships
++ Civic and Digital Citizenship
Students need intentional practice to build their character skills
and habits so that they learn effective and productive ways of
flourishing in this global and digital society.
charactermatters2017.eventbrite.com
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