After The Fall

Happy Wednesday; today I feel grateful that our friends

at Character.org used this selfie shot to advertise

this year's National Forum on Character Education.

I totally remember that this was a magical moment in time;

just look at the joy in our smiles.

Will you be going in October?

It'll mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Forum experience.

Two and a half decades of celebrating character.

A quarter of a century of showcasing promising practices.

A huge part of that journey down Character Road for me has been

learning that character building is so much more than just

naming and claiming your school's core values.

If it were, then it'd be one and done,

something our district did back in 1987, 

a product rather than a process.

Oh, that's a big piece, for sure, but it's more about how we

weave those values into the very DNA of our school's fabric 

and use them as a roadmap to help us get where we're going.

It's about reducing peer cruelty so children feel safe.

It's about creating a web (where everyone belongs!) of love

where everybody knows they matter,

where they're given a voice and choices,

where they are championed as learners and leaders.

Not just the kids; faculty, staff and stakeholders, too.

Everybody.

A place where shared leadership is a given,

where kindness matters isn't just a slogan on the wall,

where data helps drive decisions. 

It's about using mistakes and failure as opportunities for growth,

it's about picking one another up and when we fall,

it's about stepping in to each other's stories

and listening to really understand rather than just to respond.

It's about getting honest and addressing the elephants in the room.

It's about telling our truth,

lavishly giving grace,

apologizing to right wrongs,

and forgiving to heal when hurts happen.

Schools of character are a rare gift

that don't just happen by chance.

They happen as a result of intentional hard (and heart) work.

Every magical moment 

of every single day.

One of my greatest career joys was leading Westwood Elementary

to a State and then National School of Character distinction.

That's why I'm honored to be in that photograph

as an Ambassador for this year's Forum.

Today I'm also excited about our picture book pick of the week

 that beautifully encapsulates the school of character ideal. 

Meet Dan Santat's After The Fall.

It tells the story of Humpty Dumpty's return from his famous fall, how he persevered through his fear of heights, worked to reinvent himself, found out the hard way that life begins again only after you get back up, and emerged a better version of himself than he ever imagined possible.

After reading this treasure aloud, have fun making paper airplanes.

Encourage your students to write their YET goals on them.

You could even host a contest, to see which flies the farthest.

Then click {here} for more intriguing integration ideas.

Our chapter book pick for this week also showcases

how a using a growth mindset can pay huge dividends.

This colorful and comprehensive guidebook is chunk full of epic examples of women who have fought against fear and other overwhelming odds to achieve amazing things in the competitive world of athletics. These 101 women changed the face of their games and have put performance values like perseverance, resilience and grit in the spotlight center stage.

Know someone who needs a booster shot of inspiration? Share this awesome Sports Illustrated Kids newcomer with your children, encourage them to find an athlete they admire, and write down the character traits that make their story stand out. Invite them to use these hard-working women as a role model next time they're tempted to quit running the race because an obstacle gets in their way.

Click image for source.

Now that's a character ideal that'll get back up

 and score a goal toward success 

every time.