Monday, January 18, 2010

Northern Highlands Regional High School: Dedicated to Becoming a National Model of Character

On Monday, January 18, 2010, Northern Highlands Regional High School held a professional development day for 150 of its faculty, administrators and staff members. The goal of the event was to serve as the launching pad for the school's dedication to becoming a National Model of Character.

Northern Highlands Regional High School serves the suburban towns of Allendale, Upper Saddle River, Ho-Ho-Kus and Saddle River. The school is located in Bergen County, New Jersey, just 20 miles from New York City.

As the keynote speaker for the venue, I was privileged to present a 90-minute program titled Creating a Culture of Character and Achievement. The presentation addressed contemporary concerns highlighting the crisis of character in American Society and encouraged the school in its commitment to character education.

Eleven Principles of Character Education

http://www.character.org/elevenprinciples

PRINCIPLE 1

Promotes core ethical values and supportive performance values as the foundation of good character.

PRINCIPLE 2

Defines "character" comprehensively to include thinking, feeling, and behavior.

PRINCIPLE 3

Uses a comprehensive, intentional, and proactive approach to character development.

PRINCIPLE 4

Creates a caring school community.

PRINCIPLE 5

Provides students with opportunities for moral action.

PRINCIPLE 6

Includes a meaningful and challenging academic curriculum that respects all learners, develops their character, and helps them to succeed.

PRINCIPLE 7

Strives to foster students' self motivation.

PRINCIPLE 8

Engages the school staff as a learning and moral community that shares responsibility for character education and attempts to adhere to the same core values that guide the education of students.

PRINCIPLE 9

Fosters shared moral leadership and long range support of the character education initiative.

PRINCIPLE 10

Engages families and community members as partners in the character-building effort.

PRINCIPLE 11

Evaluates the character of the school, the school staff's functioning as character educators, and the extent to which students manifest good character.

Northern Highlands Regional High School, especially through the leadership of Principal Joseph J. Occhino, is to be commended for its dedication to becoming a National Model of Character. Our nation is in desperate need of a transformation to character and the commitment of our schools is essential to the welfare of the nation.

READ MORE

Northern Highlands Regional High School Click here to visit site
Character Education Partnership Click here to visit site
Vincent Bove Character Education Blogs Click here to visit site

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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Remembering the Dream: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As the nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 18th, a testament to his greatness is that nearly every major city in America has a street or school named after him.

After his death in Memphis on April 4, 1968, the words of Martin Luther King Jr. still hold captivating influence and inspiring gracefulness:

On Equality (Birmingham jail, 1963)
"Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration, we were here."

On Nonconformity (1963)
"The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority."

On Civil Rights (Selma to Montgomery, 1965)
"We are moving to the land of freedom. Let us march to the realization of the American dream."

On Peace (1964)
"Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood."

On the Dream of Freedom (1964)
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed...that all men are created equal."

On Freedom (1963)
"So let freedom ring. From the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire let freedom ring. From the mighty mountains of New York, let freedom ring. From the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania, let freedom ring. But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi..."

On the Future (April 3, 1968 – the night before his murder)
"I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. So I'm happy tonight, I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Serving

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Monday, January 04, 2010

The Fall of Tiger Woods: A Time for Reflection

As the dust settles on the Tiger Woods scandal, we would do well to reflect on the issues that it raises. Not for the titillating details but for the lessons we might learn about human nature.

Unlike any athlete in history, the world is reacting to the scandal surrounding Tiger Woods. Much of this reaction goes beyond the curious and appears to be festered by cruelty, condemnation and self-righteousness.

As a response to this feeding frenzy at the emotional expense inflamed by the failures of a celebrity, there must be reflection from another perspective which allows character to be its foundation. But first, a brief look at the unprecedented athletic accomplishments of Tiger Woods.

Woods has won 93 tournaments; 71 on the PGA tour including five Masters, four PGA Championships and three U.S. Open Championships. In 2001, he became the first player ever to hold all four professional major championships at one time. Aside from these victories, he is referred to as the world’s first billion dollar athlete for his earnings on and off the course.

Even after his recent personal scandal, he was the runaway winner of the male Golfer of the Year in the December Golf Writers of America Awards. Woods was also selected on December 16, 2009 as the Athlete of the Decade by members of the Associated Press. But his recent earthquake of scandal has struck the legacy of Tiger Woods to its core. Fascination with his fall from grace has been international and despite this hysteria, reasonable minds must pause for reflection and consider the following:

  • Money and fame are fleeting and can never assure happiness
  • The family is sacrosanct and must be the focus of time, talent and trust.
  • It is very easy to have fair weather friends but when we are down the intentions of others quickly surfaces
  • Never judge a book by its cover…look beyond the externals which can be a cloak of superficiality and try to understand what is hidden in the heart and soul of others
  • A life of character must be deeply rooted on solid ground…if it is built on sand it will certainly crumble in time
  • Each and every person will always reap what they sow and there are always consequences for every action, even those which are believed to be done in private
  • Sooner rather than later, acts committed in the darkness will be shouted from the rooftops
  • A reputation can take a lifetime to build but it can be destroyed in the blink of an eye
  • When others fail, compassion and counsel, rather than cruelty and condemnation must be the order of the day
  • Failures are an opportunity for contrition, forgiveness, justice, growth and transformation
  • Never kick someone when they are down but always help others to rise up
  • Never rash judge another since we have not walked in their shoes
  • If one is without fault, only then do they have the right to cast the first stone

As the tragic headlines of the fall of Tiger Woods continue to unravel the details of his scandal, the qualities of understanding, wisdom, counsel and fortitude deserve cultivation and reflection.

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