3 character education workshop

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Character Education Workshop

Date: 15th June, 2009

Venue: COC Room 104

Time: 10am-4pm

Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong

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Starting Activities

Moral Courage Treasure Hunt

1.1 Adult version

1.2 High School version

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Expectation Sharing

Why are we here?

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What is Character?

Small group sharing: My Board of Director

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Character

• In one sense, character is what is inside of us that responds to life

• Our responses come from the habits and dispositions we’ve learned and developed.

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Character Vs Good Character

Everyone has character, but not everyone has good character

• When we refer to specific person’s character, we’re concerned with the moral choices he or she makes and the virtues he or she may or may not practice.

• A person has good character because he or she knows the difference between right and wrong and strives to do what is right for the right reasons.

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Showing Our True Character

Our true character is shown every day by:

Our normal and consistent attitudes and behavior

How we treat people who cannot help or hurt us

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“ A person’s character refers to dispositions and habits that determine the way that person normally responds to desires, fears, challenges, opportunities, failures, and successes.”

Michael Josephson

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Character And Conscience

• Character is how we act when we think no one’s watching.

• Conscience is the inner voice that warns us Someone may be watching

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Character And Reputation

• Our reputation is what other people think we are.

• Character is what we really are.

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“ Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words;

they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits;

they become character. Watch your character,

it becomes your destiny.”_ Unknown

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Building Character

When we refer to building character, we’re concerned with instilling within a person the positive, admirable, and ethical traits that are associated with good character.

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Three Ways to Build Character

• First, character training must involve teaching a person to follow the rules of good behavior.

• Those whom we’re training must know what’s expected of them.

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• Second, character training must involve developing good habits, which come only through repeated practice.

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• Third, character training must provide positive examples by placing children in the company of responsible adults.

• These adults must display an allegiance to good character and demonstrate the clear difference between right and wrong in their own everyday habits and behaviours.

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Overview of CHARACTER COUNTS!

• From the detail introduction and brief meeting with the Assistant Director, Justin Lu, of Character Counts, we had a better and concreted imagine also understanding how the Character Counts works over the States.

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How Did CHARACTER COUNTS! Get Started?

Based on the belief that there are enduring moral truths that distinguish right from wrong and define the essence of good

character, Josephson Institute sought to identify a list of core shared ethical values.

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What IsCHARACTER COUNTS!?

•CHARACTER COUNTS! is a national grassroots initiative based on voluntary citizen action.

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Partnership of Organizations

• The CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition is a partnership of nearly 900 national, regional, and local organizations committed to the CHARACTER COUNTS! strategy and joined together in a collaborative effort to improve the character of young people.

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A Few of the Nearly 900 CHARACTER COUNTS!

Organizations• YMCA• Boys & Girls Clubs• 4-H• National PTA• Big Brothers/

Big Sisters• Little League• AYSO• U.S. Soccer Assn.• Nat’l Assn. of Police

Athletic Leagues

• AFT• NEA• Amer. Assn. of School

Administrators• Nat’l Assn.of

Secondary School Principals

• Nat’l Assn. of Student Councils

• Internat’l Assn. of Chiefs of Police

• Nat’l Assn. of Elementary School Principals

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CHARACTER COUNTS!

Provision of service• The trainings, they provided for

teachers, community organizations, athletes and policy makers

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CHARACTER COUNTS!

Provision of service• To assess the needs of children and youth

in character development

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CHARACTER COUNTS!

Provision of service• To support and advice the graduates in

implementation of character education among the locals

• To create the sharing platform among the graduates for our newly created plans for education. The graduates are able to share their experience and materials around the worldwide with the help from Character Counts

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CHARACTER COUNTS!

Provision of service• To conduct teaching kits for trainers to conduct

character development in their own agencies

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Character development seminar

Six Pillars of Character

TRUSTWORTHINESS – honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, loyalty

RESPECT – courtesy, nonviolence, tolerance, autonomy

RESPONSIBILITY – duty, accountability, pursuit of excellence, self-restraint

FAIRNESS – openness, consistency, impartiality

CARING – kindness, compassion, empathy

CITIZENSHIP – civic virtue, lawfulness, common good

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Our Y’s Perspectives

Promoting the core ethic value;

Building in the caring, honesty, respect and responsibility attitude towards our members;

Empowering them with the ability to face the uncertainty;

Living with the model of Jesus Christ.

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Our Y’s Perspectives

Six Pillars (T.R.R.F.C.C.) comes toFour Pillars

1. Caring -- To love others, to be sensitive to the well-being of others

2. Honesty -- To tell the truth, to act in such a way that I am worthy of trust, to have integrity, making sure my actions match my values

3. Respect -- To treat others as you would have them treat you, to value the worth of every person, including yourself

4. Responsibility -- To do what you ought to do, to be accountable for your behavior and obligations

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Educating forGood Character

Character education is about helping students cultivate worthy lives.

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Educating forGood Character

Character education is more than giving students opportunities to practice virtues and uproot vice. It allows young people to assume responsibility for their own character formation.

They soon realize that character education is not something being done to them, but something they’re doing to and for themselves.

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Educating forGood Character

Children aren’t mere blocks of stone whom adults ruthlessly carve into “ideal students.”

Character education helps young people become the sculptors of their own lives and character.

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T.E.A.M.

TEACH

ENFORCE

ADVOCATE

MODEL

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Seven Steps to Good Decisions

Stop and think

Clarify goals

Determine facts

Develop options

Consider consequences

Choose

Monitor and modify

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Caring

Pillar One

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Caring

A caring person is compassionate, considerate, and unselfish. A caring person shows appreciation, forgives others and helps people without expecting anything in return.

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Caring

The Pillar of Caring is demonstrated by two main concepts:

Concern for others

Passion for an ideal, belief, or cause

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A Caring Person Is:

Compassionate and empathetic

Kind, loving, and considerate

Thankful and expresses gratitude

Forgiving of others

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2. Caring Heroes

2.1 Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, organised and directed a field of nurses during the Crimean War. Her life was dedicated to the care of the sick and war-wounded. She established a nursing school at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London.

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2.2 Diana, Princess of Wales, had a genuine devotion to issues involving children and the aging. She was also an outspoken advocate for AIDS research.

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3. Caring games

3.1 Folding Heart

3.2 Making Fair Decisions

3.3 I-Care Card

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A Caring Person Is Not:

Mean, cruel, or insensitive

Selfish or self-centered

Too busy to lend a helping hand

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Elements of Caring:

• Concern for others’ well-being

• Compassion

• Empathy

• Kindness and consideration

• Charity

• Sacrifice

• Gratitude

• Mercy and forgiveness

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Concern for Others

To engage or involve yourself in the well-being of others as if your happiness depended on theirs.

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Compassion

Sorrow or concern for the suffering of others accompanied by the urge to help.

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Empathy

The ability to share in another person’s thoughts and feelings.

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Compassion and Empathy

A person who cares feels an emotional response to both the pain and pleasure of others.

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Kindness and Consideration

Having sympathetic or generous qualities imply an inclination to be charitable and do good.

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Charity

The voluntary giving of money or other help to people in need.

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Sacrifice

• Paying a personal cost to accomplish a goal.

• The personal cost may be small or great, but it’s paid to benefit another.

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Gratitude

• Being genuinely grateful for others and their efforts.

• Gratitude should be without condescension.

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Mercy and Forgiveness

• Mercy means giving someone who’s committed an offense more than he deserves. We might call it:

– Giving someone a break– Cutting someone slack– Giving someone another (or second) chance

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Caring as Passion

• Caring is having regard for someone or something based on desire or esteem.

• That means we place a value on what we care about.

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Caring as Passion

• Avoid unfairly criticizing those who don’t care about (value) the things we do.

– We may embrace a cause or follow a belief system that is important to us. However, others may reject it.

– Respect asks us to accept and tolerate the rights of others to have their own values and views.

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Elements

• Conviction -- A strong belief in the rightness of an idea or course of action

• Commitment -- Dedication or willingness to pay the price

• Persistence emphasizes attitude: the inward determination to continue pursuing character development

• Endurance emphasizes practice and behavior: in spite of obstacles, continuing to improve and practice good character

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Good words are worth much and cost little.

— George Herbert

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HonestyPillar Two

Honesty means living with integrity, being reliable and loyal

2.1 Tower of Trust2.2 Balloon Game

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2. Honesty Heroes

2.1 George Washington, first president of the United States, was trustworthy and determined. There were numerous stories about his honesty and strength. It is said that the chopped down his father’s cherry tree and then confessed by saying, “I cannot tell a lie, Pa.”

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2.2 Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was nicknamed Honest Abe. When he was an adolescent, he once charged a woman six and a quarter cents too much. He walked three miles to catch up with her and pay her back.

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Honesty EmbodiesFour Ethical Principles

• Integrity

• Trust

• Promise-Keeping

• Loyalty

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Honesty

There are two types of honesty:

Communications

Conduct

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Honesty: Communications

Truthfulness – representing facts and intentions to the best of one’s knowledge

Sincerity – being genuine without trickery or duplicity

Candor – volunteering information another person would want to know; being frank, forthright, and open

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Honesty:Conduct

Playing by the rules — no cheating

Being trustworthy with others’ property — no stealing

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Honesty

Do:

Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

Be sincere

Be forthright and candid

Don’t:

Lie

Cheat

Steal

Be sneaky, tricky, or deceptive

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Honesty and Mistakes

Sometimes a truthful person can make a mistake and be wrong about what the truth is.

Honest mistakes can hurt trust (they reveal problems of reliability or carelessness), but a person who makes a mistake is not dishonest.

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Sincerity and Deception

Deception — an act, including silence, intended to cause another person to believe something that isn’t true.

It is just as dishonest to deceive with half-truths, misleading, or tricky statements as it is to lie by saying something untrue.

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Candor and Forthrightness

In a trusting relationship, there is sometimes a moral obligation to reveal something even if you’re not asked. Unless prevented by another moral duty, a trustworthy person should volunteer information only when:

The information could affect a trusting friend or associate in an important way

It is fairly expected in the relationship that such information will be shared

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In Trusting Relationships...

• Exaggerations• Promising what you cannot

deliver• Deliberate distortions• Concealment of important facts• False statements of opinion

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Integrity

Integrity is moral wholeness demonstrated by a consistency of:

Thoughts – what we thinkWords – what we sayDeeds – what we doDuties – what we should do

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Integrity

Although living up to personal values and “walking the talk” are critical aspects of integrity, they aren’t enough.

A person of integrity must also recognize and live up to universal moral obligations such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

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Integrity

Integrity requires both being true to oneself and living up to one’s highest and best personal values.

Self-respect and self-esteem are essential to feelings of worthiness, fulfillment, contentment, and peace of mind — attitudes necessary to a personal sense of integrity.

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Integrity Is Consistency

People without integrity are often called hypocrites or “two-faced.”

People who cannot be consistently counted on to demonstrate integrity cannot be trusted.

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Integrity

People of integrity stand for something!

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People With Integrity

Stand up for their beliefs openly and boldly

Listen to their conscience and live by their principles no matter what others say and no matter the personal cost

Are honorable and upright in all actions

Have the courage to do what’s right and to try new things even when it’s hard or costly or when failure is probable

Build and guard their reputations

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People With Integrity

Don’t do anything they think is wrong

Don’t lose heart if they fail

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Courage

Courage doesn’t require us to be fearless. Fear is a natural and important protective emotion that warns us of danger.

The essence of courage is the prudent overcoming of fear.

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Moral Courage

Integrity often requires courage — a firmness of spirit that enables us to:

Try new things

Pursue goals

Persevere

Overcome fears

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Let’s have lunch^^

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Opening Activity of Afternoon

3/2/1

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Respect

Pillar Three

3.1 Playing Card Hierarchy

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Respect

The essence of respect is to show solemn regard for the worth of people, including yourself.

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Two Aspects of Respect

What you think of others

How you treat others

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Respect

Treating people with respect means letting them know that:

Their safety and happiness matter

They’re important and worthy simply because they’re fellow human beings.

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Seven Rules of Respect

1. Honor the individual worth and dignity of others.

2. Show courtesy and civility.

3. Honor reasonable social standards and customs.

4. Live by the Golden Rule.

5. Accept differences and judge on character and ability.

6. Respect the autonomy of others.

7. Avoid actual or threatened violence.

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The Magic Words

Civility is a lubricant for human interaction and a sign of respect.

The simple rituals of saying “please,” “thank you,” and “excuse me” acknowledge the importance of others as not merely things but as individuals entitled to respect.

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Live by the Golden Rule

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

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Distortions of the Golden Rule

AS A RULE OF MORALITY Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

AS A RULE OF REVENGEDo unto others as they have done unto you.

AS A RULE OF SELF-DEFENSEDo unto others before they do unto you.

AS A RULE OF INVESTMENTDo unto others so they will do unto you.

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Rule of Universality

Do only those acts that you’re willing to allow to become universal standards of behavior applicable to all people in similar situations.

Ask yourself:If everyone did it, would it be a good thing?

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Privacy

Respect requires us to honor the desire for privacy.

The claim to privacy is a matter of dignity, however, not an absolute right.

There are times when it’s morally justified and legally proper for parents, teachers, and police to invade privacy to advance a greater good.

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Tolerance and Acceptance

— DO —Judge others on their character, abilities, and

conduct, not on race, religion, gender, appearance, residence, or monetary worth.

Be tolerant, respectful, and accepting of those who are different from you.

Listen to others and try to understand their points of view and opinions.

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It is disrespectful to withhold information others need to control their own destiny.

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We show respect and teach responsibility by providing young people with the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect them.

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Teach Tolerance

Children are more likely to learn ifthey’re included in the processof running the classroomand making decisions.

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Responsibility

Pillar Four

4.1 Filling the Jar

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Dimensions of Responsibility

Your ability to reason and freedom to choose makes you morally autonomous and, therefore, accountable for your choices.

You are bound by principles of morality to make choices that honor, rather than degrade, universal ethical obligations to be trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring, and a good citizen.

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Responsibility

Life is full of choices . . . Responsibility is an important aspect of good character: the moral obligation to choose attitudes, words, and actions and the duty to accept personal responsibility for the consequences of those actions.

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Responsibility

Responsibility requires that you recognize what you do — and don’t do — matters.

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Responsibility and Character Development

You can’t choose to be good looking, smart, or athletic. You can’t choose your parents or the circumstances in which you grow up.

But you can choose how to deal with the outrages and opportunities of life.

From these choices, your character is formed.

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Teach Children That...

Choosing not to choose is a choice.

Choosing whether to be conscious and concerned about the consequences of what you say and do, including the choice to be willfully blind, is a choice.

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Twelve Concepts of Responsibility

Be accountableExercise self-controlPlan and set goalsChoose positive attitudesDo your dutyBe self-reliant

Pursue excellenceBe proactiveBe persistentBe reflectiveSet a good exampleBe morally autonomous

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Accountability

DO:

Accept responsibility for the consequences of your choices, not only what you do, but what you don’t do

Think long-termWhat you can to make

things betterSet a good example

DON’T:

Look the other way when you can make a difference

Make excuses or blame others.

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Look Out for Excuses

“That’s just the way I am.” You are what you choose to be, nothing less and nothing more.

“It’s not my fault.” Responsibility isn’t about blame; it’s about accountability. The question for the responsible person is: “Could I have done something that would have mattered?”

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More Excuses

“It’s not my job.”Your moral duties go beyond job responsibilities. Responsible people often do more than they’re required to do.

“It was legal.”

You’re not legally or morally obliged to do what you’re permitted to do. Responsible people often do less than they’re allowed to do.

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Exercise Self-Control

Take charge of your life. Everyone’s responsible for the development of his or her personal character.

Set realistic goals.

Keep a positive outlook.

Be prudent and self-disciplined with your health, emotions, time, and money.

Be rational — act out of reason, not anger, revenge, or fear.

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Exercise Self-Control

In honor of reason and moral duty, restrain even the most powerful passions and appetites.

Recognize that everything you say and do makes a difference. Therefore, think about your choices.

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Responsible People...

Don’t blame others or make excuses for their actions and inactions

Govern their behavior according to their sense of moral duty, which is broader than their legal obligation

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Choosing Positive Attitudes

Positive attitudes that produce better relationships and more productive work habits include:

Trustfulness

Optimism

Cheerfulness

Enthusiasm

Hopefulness

Generosity

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Choosing Positive Attitudes

Negative attitudes are forms of prejudice that distort perceptions and often produce unwise and self-defeating choices. They include:

Cynicism

Defeatism

Suspiciousness

Pessimism

Hopelessness

Selfishness

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Do Your Duty

Acknowledge and meet your legal and moral obligations.

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Pursue Excellence

Take pride in everything you do in recognition of the obligation to yourself — and those who rely on you — to do your best.

Despite a shortage of time and resources, as a responsible person, do the best you can with what you have.

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Pursue Excellence

DO:

Your best

Persevere

Prepare

Be diligent

Work hard

Make all you do worthy of pride

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Good Work Habits

There is an ethical dimension to good work habits — the work ethic: Others depend on you to show up on time, prepared and ready to do your work, and dedicated to stick with the job until it’s done.

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Set a Good Example

Setting a good example means:

Leading by Example – Take the initiative to do what needs to be done.

Role-modeling – What you do is more important than what you say.

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Set a good example:

You teach by what you do, not by what

you say.

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“How could you have taken those markers from school? If you needed them so badly,

why didn’t you tell me? I would have taken them from

the office.”

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Two Types of Responsibility

Personal responsibility

Collective responsibility

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Teachers Help Students Develop Both

Help students develop the motivation and skills to practice self-discipline.

Help students develop a sense of responsibility toward their class- and schoolmates.

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Developing Collective Responsibility

Instill in students the value of careful planning, self-assessment, and skill development.

Provide students with a sense of control over their behavior.

Create in the classroom a balance of community support and challenge for individual strengths and weaknesses.

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Developing Collective Responsibility

Empower students to understand, monitor, and change their behavior.

Provide students with a sense of what it means to be a member of the class or school.

Enable students to share the responsibility for holding all class members accountable to agreed-upon rules.

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School as a Community

For a classroom to become a positive learning environment, students must believe they’re part of a safe and caring community – both in and out of school.

Have students take responsibility for their own actions.

Hold each other accountable for following rules.

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School as a Community

Students often fail to see the school as a community with an intrinsic worth. Thus, they justify rules about class attendance, bullying, stealing, or cheating solely in terms of how they benefit the individual.

Help students develop appropriate responses to what it means to be a member of their classroom and school.

“That’s not how we do things here.”

“At our school, we show respect for others.”

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School as a Community

Teachers need to give students the pleasure of saying “we” rather than “I.”

Saying “we,” the child is aware that a supportive, dependable community is behind him or her.

In order to develop the pleasure of saying “we,” teachers must call students’ attention to the spirit of the class or pride in the school and seize upon whatever events draw members of a class or a school together as occasions for furthering their collective consciousness.

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What Works

Effective character-building programs are centered on:

Instilling habitsInspiring moral ambitionsImposing positive and negative

consequencesDeveloping critical thinking and problem-

solving skillsModeling good conductComprehensive approach

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An Effective Character-Development Program

Is...

PURPOSEFUL

PERVASIVE

REPETITIVE

CONSISTENT

CREATIVE

CONCRETE

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What Works:Experiential Learning Model

Do

(What)

Reflect

(So what?)

Apply

(Now what?)

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What Works:Do – Reflect – Apply

Participants are guided through doing an activity, reflecting on their experience, and applying what they’ve learned. This process is key to learning and growing from experience.

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Three Necessary Qualities

For a character development initiative to succeed, it must be:

Meaningful

Measurable

Sustainable

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Implementation

Coalition Building model

More & Less

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Seven Elements of Implementation

Put a team together.

Conduct a needs and climate assessment.

Train/consult.

Create a vision and a plan.

Involve all constituencies in action steps.

Evaluate the program and adjust accordingly.

Maintain and accelerate momentum.

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Step One:Put a Team Together

Form a Volunteer Task Force

Can be called a CHARACTER COUNTS! Leadership Council

Should be formed of genuinely interested parties

Remember to be as broadly based as possible

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Form a Volunteer Task Force

For communities, build a coalition team that includes key community leaders.

Either use an existing network focused on community needs or form a new coalition with CHARACTER COUNTS! as its primary mission.

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Form a Volunteer Task Force

For schools, your team should include the principal or vice principal, athletic director, someone from the counselors’ office, teachers, support staff, parents, and student leaders.

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Purpose ofVolunteer Task Force

Lead

Plan

Implement

Monitor

Evaluate

Sustain

...your initiatives

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Closing Activity

Elevator Encounter