On September 22, 2016, we are joining hundreds of thousands of people around the globe for the third annual Character Day — a free day and global initiative where school districts, organizations, families, congregations of all sizes screen films on the science of character development from different perspectives, dive into free printed discussion materials catered to different ages, and join an online global conversation around the importance of developing character strengths (resilience, grit, empathy, courage, kindness)–all rooted in evidence-based research. Character Day is one day.

Character is one of the eight key competencies that we want all of our students to grow in.

 

hsd-deeper-learning-graphic

During Character Day we will discuss the different aspects of character. Homerooms will discuss what is important to them as a group and then student will think about what areas they feel they are strong in and what areas they think they need to work at.

All students will be given the Periodic Table of Character Strengths (see the image below) to help them with the conversation.

character-day-strengths

To learn more about Character Day please visit https://www.letitripple.org/character-day/.

Come back to the blog soon to see the activities that our homerooms and students did to celebrate Character Day!

To continue the conversation at home consider these:

10 Daily Practices to Strengthen Character

  1. Every night before bed, think of three moments or people you are grateful for. #Gratitude
  2. Identify your top three strengths and find ways to bring them into your life in new ways. #Character
  3. Identify one strength you want to develop and make a list of practices you can do each day to strengthen it. #Perspective #Perseverance
  4. Think of people you see everyday but don’t know personally — find out their name and something about them. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. #Empathy #Curiosity
  5. Next time you’re in a group setting, if you’re a shy person, try to raise your hand or speak first; if you’re a vocal person, let others speak first. #Humility #Courage
  6. Recognize character strengths in others and compliment them regularly. #gratitude #Perspective #Empathy
  7. Think of one of your heroes and identify the strengths you admire in them #Leadership
  8. If you have an email that is stressing you out, sleep on it before you send #Self-control
  9. Recognize teachable moments in real life and on screen and identify what strengths they exercise. #SocialIntelligence
  10. Ask people for permission to post (PTP) before sharing their photo online. #Kindness #Self-Control

Mr. Mead

in: General