Character Counts

Simple Observations from a High School Teacher

Group Dynamics

• The Moocher

• The “Brain”

• The Team Player

The Moocher

• I have observed approximately 25% of the students in each class exhibiting signs of mooching

Mooching includes the following characteristics:

• Letting others do most or all of the work.• Not taking personal responsibility for the

project.• Wanting to get “something---a good grade---

for nothing.”• A dependency on others without contributing

much. • You often blame others, when you know you

should be doing more (defensiveness).

Consequences of Mooching• You learn little • Your skills develop at a much slower pace than

those actually doing the work• You will do poorly on tests such as the CAHSEE

that test this type of knowledge. Possibly not pass the CAHSEE and graduate with your peers.

• You learn to depend on others instead of yourself. This can have life-long consequences.

The Brain

• I have observed approximately 5% of the students in each class exhibiting signs of taking on the role of “the Brain.”

“Brainiacs” exhibit the following characteristics:

• They often shut others down (silent others voices) in the group by taking control of every decision and choice.

• They do not trust their group members to make decisions.

• Their grade is the only thing that is important to them, not real learning.

Consequences of Being a Brainiac

• Long-term: possible stress-related illnesses caused by taking on too much responsibility and not sharing responsibility with others in the workplace due to perceived inadequacies in others.

• Short term---Alienation of others• Not allowing others to learn and develop• Missing out on possible “high-quality”

contributions of other group members• Missing the point of your education!

The Team Player

• 80% of the students observed in each class exhibited signs of being team players.

• The #1 workplace skills cited by employers as being of most importance---is the ability to work as part of a team.

Characteristics of Team Players

• Students take personal responsibility for meeting deadlines and getting work done.

• Students “pull their own weight” in the group---they work as hard as others in the group to achieve a common task.

• They value the group effort and learning process as much or more than the final grade.

Consequences of Being a Team Player

• Long-term: Promotions,career advancement, great interpersonal relationships with co-workers, respect from associates and colleagues.

• Short-term: • You develop the skills to achieve the above.• You learn more of the skills required by the

standards for 10th grade English and you can apply and synthesize what you learned (brain functions on higher level of understanding)

Conclusion• Your character is revealed by what you do,

not what you say you will do.

“It's not who you are inside, but what you do that defines you." …Batman

• Action=Destiny: What will yours be? When will you begin to work on your personal character if not now!