respect

Michaela Weinstein was a freshman when she decided to take action.

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The barrage of racist messages at California’s Albany High School – scrawled in hallways and on text books, along with attacks on social media – convinced her the only way to change the situation was through a cultural shift, led by students.

An Instagram post in March 2017 depicting the lynching of a black female student by the Ku Klux Klan served as the final straw, and Weinstein partnered with good friend Melia Oliver to create Speak, a social justice program focused on educating elementary students about empathy, racism, sexism and anti-Semitism, The Jewish News reports.

“The Friday the Instagram account was discovered, Melia and I had this really big conversation,” Weinstein said. “We realized that there was this need and we had a responsibility as citizens of our school and citizens of our world to make this change.”

The two recruited classmates to join the group and help lead discussions, then went to work designing a curriculum to cover a variety of topics, from bullying to LGBTQ discrimination, for students in grades three through five.

“Fourth- and fifth-graders are so influenceable,” Weinstein said. “They are really malleable, so you can give them information and they are willing to talk about it and they don’t have these walls built up yet.”

“We realized that we really needed a cultural shift, through education at a young age, to not tolerate hate. Obviously it’s not something that can be solved so quickly, but with something like Speak and other activist groups, hopefully some things like this can be helped.”

Speak held 38 presentations in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms at three Albany elementary schools last year, and now has plans to spread the message to sixth-graders, as well, in 2018.

Weinstein, now a junior, recently won $36,000 to continue her work from the 2018 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, a national program that recognizes Jewish students who exemplify the values of their faith.

“At the end of the presentations we often have a closing circle and we ask what have you learned in the past hour, and they’ll sometimes say, ‘I want to make a difference like you’re making a difference,’” Weinstein told The Jewish News. “If a girl in her freshman year with her friend was able to create a program that can reach all these people, it shows we have the ability to make a difference.”

Students in Speak crafted the program to address the specific issues of racism and anti-Semitism gripping the high school, and educators and administrators who encouraged the program will undoubtedly benefit from the positive changes to school culture.

“We can only care for the young in their particularity,” researchers at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture wrote in “The Content of Their Character,” an analysis of character education in a wide variety of schools. “If we are not attentive to and understanding of these contexts, we are not caring for real, live human beings, but rather abstractions that actually don’t exist at all.”

Speak offers more information about the program, including its mission, presentations and team biographies at AHSStudentsSpeak.org.

 

Research shows students’ sense of belonging in schools is critical

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A recent report by the Australian Council for Educational Research highlights what many educators have observed themselves: certain students lack a sense of belonging, and it impacts their success in school.

According to ACER:

While the majority of Australian students feel a sense of belonging at school, there is a solid core of students who do not feel this way – roughly one in five, or five students in the average classroom.

Researchers examined the response of 15-year-olds to questions regarding their sense of belonging in school administered through the Programme for International Student Assessment, which collected data on a total of 36 countries, including the United States.

The education site The Conversation points to research that shows students’ sense of belonging at school can have a profound impact on their success in academics and life. Those that feel less like they belong are more likely to misbehave, use drugs or alcohol, act violently, or drop out of school, while those who feel a strong sense of belonging are typically more motivated, engaged, and eager to participate in school and their communities.

“Teachers play an important role in nurturing students’ sense of belonging. If a student considers their teacher to be caring and accepting, they’re more likely to adopt the academic and social values of their teacher,” The Conversation reports. “This can influence how students feel about school work and how much (or how little) they value it.”

The site offers a video from the Australian Psychological Society that explains “Mental health benefits when kids feel they belong at school,” and a list of teaching practices that are key to fostering a sense of belonging in the classroom.

The recommendations include developing high-quality teacher-student relationships, creating a supporting and caring learning environment, offering emotional support, sensitivity to student emotions and needs, offering respect and fair treatment and positive classroom management practices.

“Other significant approaches include giving students a voice, working with community partners to meet students’ needs, student participation in extra-curricular activities, and developing a culture of high standards and behaviours across the whole school,” The Conversation reports.

Education researcher Richard Fournier highlighted how a sense of belonging can strengthen the moral culture of a school in “The Content of Their Character,” a publication of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture summarizing character development in a variety of schools.

“One common goal among the schools’ administrators, often acknowledged by teachers, was to create a sense of belonging among students and staff,” Fournier observed. “This sense of belonging built trust, which in turn gave teachers and administrators more clout when pointing students in the right directions.”

Educators can develop a better understanding of how the world’s 15-year-olds view themselves and their place in school from data collected by the Students’ Well-Being survey, PISA 2015.

The survey “explores a comprehensive set of well-being indicators for adolescents that covers both negative outcomes (e.g. anxiety, low performance) and the positive impulses that promote healthy development (e.g. interest, engagement, motivation to achieve).”

CA high school inducts alumni into ‘Hall of Fame’ to highlight work helping others

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A California high school is honoring alumni who are making a positive impact in their communities by inducting them into a Hall of Fame as role models students can look up to.

The Poway High School Alumni Association is hosting a Fame Recognition Dinner in August to induct three former students into its Titan Hall of Fame, a recognition for those who “exemplify the mission, goals and values of school and who have made significant contributions and achievements in academics, business, the arts, community service, public service, science or athletics,” the San Diego Union Tribune reports.

Janice Grimes, class of 1985; Jacqui Marty, class of 1986; and Justin Woodruff, class of 1996, were selected for the Titan Hall of Fame in 2018.

“To receive an honor of this magnitude from your high school, in your hometown, is profoundly humbling,” said Grimes, who now lives in Ohio. “When I received the call from (PHS Alumni Association President) Larry Ott, I was so overwhelmed I cried tears of sincere gratitude. I am deeply proud of my hometown roots and being a part of the Poway High School alumni, class of 1985.”

Grimes founded Quilts of Compassion in 1999 after receiving a quilt from a hospital pastor during a long recovery from a serious car accident, and the nonprofit has since delivered more than 90,000 hand-made quilts to folks suffering in hospitals, nursing homes, homeless shelters and disaster zones in the U.S., Guatemala, Haiti and India, according to the news site.

Grimes said “It was a daily fight to conquer the feelings of hopelessness, fear and loneliness that tried to overwhelm (me)” during the recovery from the car crash, and it was the pastor’s kindness that inspired her to spread home and encouragement to others.

“Since our first deployment, over 5,000 quilters, 60 quilt guilds and 22 quilt shops across the USA, Canada, Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands and Australia have generously donated quilts for our disaster response team efforts in communities that have been destroyed by tornadoes, flooding, hurricanes or impacted by an act of domestic terrorism,” said Grimes.

The Titan Hall of Fame is part of the moral ecosystem – schools, parents, youth groups, popular culture, peers, athletics and numerous other influences – that shape students’ character, for better or for worse. By highlighting graduates who have looked beyond themselves to help others in need, the PHSAA is sending a clear message about the values and virtues that exemplify good character.

James Davison Hunter, founder of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, wrote in “The Death of Character”:

Implicit in the word ‘character is a story. It is a story about living for a purpose that is greater than the self.

The Jesuit Schools Network is another organization that clearly outlines the type of student the school system hopes to create. The “Profile of the Graduate” encourages educators to focus on developing young adults who are open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving and committed to justice – themes that focus on others.

The ideal Jesuit graduate “sees leadership as an opportunity for service to others and the community” as they continue “moving beyond self-interest or self-centeredness,” according to the document.

Wrestling camp offers lessons about character, life

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Students at a private Philadelphia school are taking part in an annual wrestling camp that’s designed to help them perfect their character as much as their wrestling techniques.

According to Chestnut Hill Local:

In the basement of Smith Gym, an historic building with character that may remind some of underground gyms in the Rocky movies, campers learn new wrestling moves from their coach and guest athletes from all over the world. In its ninth year, this coed camp not only allows kids to master wrestling techniques and new moves, but also encourages values of integrity, respect, and hard work through fitness and friendship.

Wrestling camp director Paul Hammond told the news site the sport taught him dedication and focus, and he hopes to impart those virtues to students. He explained how wrestling can teach kids about patience and time-management, working as a team, treating opponents with fairness and kindness, and respecting their peers as well as themselves.

“I love that kids can let their summer energy out in a safe space, test and push themselves, and have a lot of fun,” he said.

Campers also learned life lessons and wrestling tips from top wrestlers, including Olympic wrestler Kazem Gholami, a Division 1 American University grappler turned Mixed Martial Artist Nick Kilstein, and others from local universities.

Gholami, who has used his platform to speak out against Iran’s social injustices, discussed single-leg takedowns, how to create angles, and timing, while also stressing how hard work and dedication in wrestling can transfer to other aspects of students’ lives, the news site reports.

“Our wrestling camp is a unique, active experience for kids to sharpen their competitive edge, practice focus and drive, and make friends,” German Friends School athletic director Katie Bergstrom Mark said.

“It was the first of its kind in the city and the program has grown immensely over the past nine years, offering campers access to former world and national caliber coaches and athletes, in addition to wrestlers from local universities,” she said.  “I am thrilled to see Coach Hammond put his own unique twist on the program and make this physically and mentally challenging sport a ton of fun.”

The wrestling camp is an example of the type of specific culture officials are cultivating in the German Friends School – a culture that ultimately shapes how students live their lives.

James Davison Hunter, founder of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, explains the following on character formation in “The Death of Character.”

“Spartan and Athenian cultures prescribed different content for character, not least because they had different ideas of the common good,” Hunter wrote. “In other words, moral cultures and the communities in which they are established provide the reasons, restraints, and incentives for conducting life in one way rather than another.”

The Positive Coaching Alliance offers resources for educators, parents, coaches and school officials to help create “better athletes, better people” through sports.

“In addition to 1,500+ free audio-video and printable tips and tools at www.PCADevZone.org, PCA has partnered with roughly 3,500 schools and youth sports organizations nationwide to deliver live group workshops, online courses and books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson that help those involved in youth and high school sports create a positive, character-building youth sports culture,” according to the PCA website.

 

Eva Moskowitz on “Why schools should teach moral character”

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Success Academy is well known for outstanding academic achievement: With 15,500 students, our network of 46 charter schools is the size of the seventh largest school district in New York State and had the highest percentages of students passing last year’s state math and reading exams. Last year, we received the prestigious Broad Prize for the “greatest academic performance and improvement while reducing achievement gaps among low-income students and students of color.” Four of our schools have earned National Blue Ribbons.

But we believe our students’ academic accomplishments are nothing if they do not also possess strong moral character. So in addition to teaching our scholars to be good readers, writers, mathematicians, and scientists, we believe they need to be people of high moral character who are self-reflective about their actions.

Teaching moral character scares many educators. That’s commonly because of a belief in relativism, an appropriate concern not to impose ideas by simple authority on a diverse student body. True, our school community is diverse. Our families, scholars, teachers, and staff do all not share the same values. And as educators we must be careful not to impose our own political or religious values on students. Yet I think we can all agree that schools can and should teach students honesty and kindness.

Ethics and good character are a part of our daily instruction. We do not have a character development curriculum because we don’t believe learning right from wrong is something that happens from 11:05–11:55 twice a week.  Rather, we have core values, and we teach them at the beginning of the year so that all new students know our north star—and we re-teach them throughout the year, since it’s easy to forget the what and the why.

At Success Academy, we mostly worry not about the kids, but the grownups. Ethics start with adults and filter to children. Respect for others and proper behavior are not just taught, but expected, modeled, and rewarded at Success Academy.

We spend much time on articulating and reinforcing what it means to be an ethical educator.  Our core beliefs include academic integrity, of course, but also center on respecting children and treating them with kindness and consistency.

We believe it is unethical to tell students reflexively they are doing a “great job” when in fact their work is poor. We believe it is unethical to pretend to valorize thinking but actually valorize procedures. We believe that, as educators, we must give students as much independence as possible, but not so much that their mistakes are fatal.

We expect our scholars to prize integrity and to make smart, ethical decisions. We know and fear the irreparable consequences that can result from one lapse in good judgment. But we also expect moral lapses and gaps. When we find them, we stop and address them with radical candor.

This has been one of the most important ingredients to our success. It is impossible to imagine our current academic excellence without this emphasis on high moral character.

 

Student’s senior project connects personal story of hope with others struggling to overcome

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Journey Smith’s Grade 12 project at British Columbia Canada’s Whistler Waldorf School is making a big impact, both on those involved in “Hope The Documentary,” and the 18-year-old herself.

Smith told Canada’s Pique News Magazine what started as a year-long thesis on the role of hope evolved into something much more, largely because her own story of overcoming adversity connected with others she knows who have struggled in life.

“In my 18 years of life, I have faced a lot of adversity. I was actually diagnosed with a condition called hydrocephalus, which is essentially fluid on the brain. I suffered a stroke at birth,” Smith said, adding that she’s underwent numerous surgeries related to the condition in the years since.

“This project was super important to find other people who have faced different types of adversity and how, through their journey, they’d overcome it,” she said.

Smith teamed with family friend and commercial videographer Andi Wardrop, who credited Smith’s intimate connection with those she interviewed for bringing the film to life.

“Journey’s story, first of all; and probably most of all, is why people get so attached to this film. The few times that (I) had met Journey, it seemed like she didn’t have a disability, which is interesting now that I know her so well,” Wardrop said. “Watching her start to give herself permission to be exactly who she is through talking to these other people, as soon as we started the film I knew it was going to be extremely powerful. It was definitely Journey’s story that I got attached to.”

“Hope The Documentary” features a local photographer who overcame breast cancer, a man who launched a mountain-bike charity following the death of his young son to cancer, a widower grieving through the unexpected death of her husband, and Smith’s personal neurosurgeon, who has treated the student since she was a toddler, according to the news site.

The focus on hope also aligns with the values and mission of Whistler Waldorf School.

“At Whistler Waldorf School, students learn from an early age to engage in their own learning process. The imaginative play and grace of the early years evolves into an experience of meeting the beauty and complexity of the world with sensitivity and hope,” according to the school’s website. “This foundation leads to a rich academic experience that supports young men and women in realizing their full potential as students, as people, as members of the global community.”

Scholars at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia point out that schools play an important role in the “moral ecology” of a community, which strongly influences students’ character.

“When social institutions – whether the family, peer relationships, youth organizations, the internet, religious congregations, entertainment, or popular culture – cluster together, they form a larger ecosystem of powerful cultural influences,” editors James Davison Hunter and Ryan S. Olson wrote in “The Content of Their Character,” a summary of character development practices in a wide variety of U.S. schools.

The Jubilee Center for Character and Virtues offers resources for educators working to influence positively the moral ecology of their communities and build character in students.

The report “Flourishing From the Margins,” for example, analyzes findings from data collected on 3,250 young people in a variety of educational settings, and offers teaching tools focused on character that educators can use to help struggling students to thrive.

 

Ohio student travels to France to eulogize local WWII veteran at Normandy American Cemetery

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When Springfield High School student Joshua Fox was selected to pay tribute to a soldier who died in the historic World War II D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, he didn’t have to search far to find a local hero.

The Ohio senior worked with the Normandy: Sacrifice For Freedom project through the Albert H. Small Student & Teacher Institute to honor Lucas County resident Private Jack William Runkel, a paratrooper with the U.S. Army’s 101 Airborne unit who died in action during the 1944 invasion, WTVG reports.

“Something about Private Runkel just spoke to me, that he was young kind of reminded me of how they were young men, most of them, who gave their life during this campaign,” Fox said.

The teen researched Runkel’s history and family, then traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend lectures and activities by World War II historians. Fox and his history teacher, Andrew Screptock, were among 15 teacher-student teams to participate in the Sacrifice for Freedom project, which culminated with students reading eulogies about the soldiers at their gravesites in France’s Normandy American Cemetery.

“That five minutes,” Fox said of the eulogy, “I can’t even explain it.”

“To know that I was possibly the first to memorialize him and honor him in that way was powerful to say the least,” he said. “We could all be speaking German right now if it wasn’t for these heroes. And it’s just something we all need to remember because of how important it was and what they gave up for us.”

“You know, it’s authentic,” Screptock added. “We got to get our hands dirty with history. So seeing Josh participate in that was especially gratifying.”

Researchers with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture recently analyzed character education in a wide variety of schools and published the findings in “The Content of Their Character.”

The research shows many schools, particularly rural schools, center character formation on three spheres of moral obligation: an appreciation of immigration, religious responsibility, and military service.

In rural schools, for example, students are not pressured to join the military, but rather “there was simply a clear expectation that people respect and honor those serving, those who had served, and those students thinking about joining.”

Fox’s memorial to Runkel is another prime example of how the expectation translates into something students and teachers can be proud of. The Sacrifice for Freedom project also creates role models, both in military heroes who gave their lives for freedom and students like Fox who step up to ensure their sacrifices are not forgotten.

The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues offers lessons on developing role models that explains “the positive effect that role models can have in your professional lives.”

“Inspiration can come from anywhere, but some people in our lives make a lasting contribution towards creating a better world for us and others,” according to the unit Character in the Professions: Law “These people may have inspired others through their various achievements but also their attitude and virtues.”

Salt Lake City police connect with elementary students through iCHAMPS program

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Students who took part in the Salt Lake City School District’s new iCHAMPS program were sent to the office less and behaved better than students who did not participate.

The three month youth development program – an acronym for Improving Community Health & Model Police Services – is a joint effort between the district and the Salt Lake City Police Department to connect students with police officers during physical education classes to build mutual understanding, KUTV reports.

From January to May, officers met with about 570 students in 13 schools, where they “taught the students life skills, and reinforced positive behaviors, such as anger management, empathy, and teamwork, during active play with the students,” according to the television station.

Police and district officials said they’re encouraged by the results so far, and extended the program to another 210 Salt Lake City students during summer school.

“I wanted to create a program that puts police officers in direct contact with children in a positive and fun way that allows for mutual understanding,” iCHAMPS Director Moises Prospero said. “Students and officers learn to humanize each other and build more trusting relationships.”

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said officers are getting as much out of the experience as students are.

“Our officers love to work with the community, and being given this opportunity to work directly with the youth has offered these officers an even greater sense of purpose,” he said.

KUTV reports:

An outside evaluator for the University of Utah found that the iCHAMPS program improved positive perceptions of police officers and taught children skills to resist drug use.

The preliminary results were found by comparing classrooms in the same school participating in iCHAMPS with those which did not participate. Several P.E. teachers cited fewer officer referrals and conduct problems during the duration of the program, the news release said.

Researchers at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia examined character education in a variety of different schools and outlined their findings in “The Content of Their Character.”

Editors James Davison Hunter and Ryan S. Olson wrote:

When social institutions – whether the family, peer relationships, youth organizations, the internet, religious congregations, entertainment, or popular culture – cluster together, they form a larger ecosystem of powerful cultural influences. None of these is morally neutral. Indeed, all social institutions rest upon distinctive ideals, beliefs, obligations, prohibitions, and commitments – many implicit and some explicit – and these are rooted, and reinforced by, well-established social practices. Taken together, these forma ‘moral ecology.’

Clearly, police and school officials are working to build positive influences into the moral ecology of Salt Lake City schools through the iCHAMPS program.

The Salt Lake City nonprofit – which offers youth development, professional development training and research and evaluation – offers more information about its mission to “promote safe and healthy neighborhoods through youth development, positive community-law enforcement relations, and collaborative partnerships” on the iCHAMPS website.

NY students interview vets, use stories to create interactive book

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Fourth graders in Pittsford, New York’s Thornell Road Elementary School are making some new friends in their community and chronicling their stories in a book about service and sacrifice.

Teacher Toni Stevens-Oliver’s class recently interviewed 23 veterans from the Rayson-Miller American Legion Post 899 to get an intimate understanding of why they joined the service and how it shaped their lives. The students then chronicled the stories in a new book called “Veteran’s Voices” – which also features an online app to view videos of the veterans in their own words, WHAM reports.

“The book was a way for us to connect one-on-one personally a student with a veteran and get to know each other through the veteran telling their story and the student writing that story,” Stevens-Oliver told the news site.

The veterans “were blown away by the interest the students showed, the respect the children showed,” she said. “We hope our book inspires people to ask their local veterans what their story is.”

Students told WHAM they learned a lot from the class project.

“Freedom isn’t free, and the veterans sacrificed a lot of things,” student James Kazacos said. “They sacrificed time with their family, holidays.”

“They are just like normal people, except that they step up and do a job that takes courage,” classmate Jake Schreyer added.

Al Herdkoltz, commander of the Rayson-Miller post, said the effort gives him hope the stories of local veterans will not be forgotten.

“They actually had an interest and they were my friends,” he said. “I felt very comfortable and at ease. I felt I had a new friendship even though there was quite a bit of age difference, they were my friends.”

Steven-Oliver shared the project on Shutterfly and posted supporting documents to her Pittsford Schools website as a template for teachers looking to pursue a similar project. The school page also features a special shout out from Sen. Rich Funke acknowledging students’ hard work.

“To take the time to not only interview our veterans, but to take those interviews and incorporate them into an interactive book was special, not just to them but to all of us who care about our veterans,” Funke said in a video message.

Researchers at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture stress the importance of developing a sense of responsibility for and ownership of something larger than students’ self-interests. In The Content of Their Character, researchers noted how rural schools are particularly strong at fostering connections to broader spheres of moral obligation through immigration, religion and the military.

“In addition to building greater knowledge of cultures and societies outside of the U.S.,” researchers wrote, great teachers “were aiming primarily to build social-perspective taking, empathy and general critical thinking skills.”

Much of the work centers on gratitude, and the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues offers a plethora of research on the subject, including the public’s perception of gratitude and links between the virtue and service.

“More recently, the Centre has extended its focus on gratitude by examining the effects of teaching interventions on comprehensions of gratitude and related virtues,” according to the website.

Teachers working on Dismantling Racism want officials to expand popular program

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Teachers, faculty and parents familiar with the Dismantling Racism curriculum at Bowman Elementary School are urging the Lexington, Massachusetts school committee to expand the program across the district.

Bowman principal Mary Anton told the committee members her staff had focused on closing the achievement gap and addressing unconscious biases in the past, but until last year “didn’t open up the spaces for children to learn how to talk about difference and across difference,” Lexington Wicked Local reports.

The change, implemented through weekly or biweekly discussions about racism with K-5 students through the Dismantling Racism curriculum, is making a big difference in how students interact, Anton said.

Second grade teacher Catie Sawka said she’s witnessed students carry on their conversations about race outside of the classroom, while first grade teacher Alicia D’Abreu contends students are more kind, empathetic and aware than in the past.

“This is something we need to bring to all schools right away,” parent Matthew Cohen, whose daughter is in Swaka’s class, told committee members.

Cohen said his daughter never wants to miss school on Wednesdays – the day her class works on Dismantling Racism.

“It’s a great program, and we need to just expand it,” he said.

The Dismantling Racism program is part of a broader effort to address racism and bias in Lexington schools that also includes a Discipline Task Force aimed at curbing high suspension rates among black and disabled students.

“The group’s goals including finding ways to identify resources, collaborate across the school district and make systemic changes,” according to the news site.

The Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia points to the importance of teachers and other school officials working to create a positive moral culture for students.

In “The Death of Character,” IASC founder and UVA sociologist James Davison Hunter writes:

The Influence of moral culture cuts across the boundaries of economic circumstances, race and ethnicity, gender, age, and family structure.

With students spending the bulk of their days in school, teachers have an unparalleled opportunity to influence students to treat others with equity, acceptance and understanding, regardless of racial background.

The Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues offers a variety of resources to help educators in that mission, including a lesson on “The Virtue of Friendliness and Civility” that delves into how the virtue fits into students’ lives.

Friendliness and civility “builds upon the basic desire to warm to others and to be accepted by them for good things – a very basic human desire,” according to the lesson. “But it also moderates our more negative emotions, especially those related to the taking of offence.”

©2017 Advanced Studies in Culture

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