 |
|
 |
|---|---|---|
|
| |
Character in Action
Want to learn more about the week's INSPO presentation?
Curious how we teach qualities like gratitude or respect for self?
Follow-up makes for great dinner table conversations!
This special page for parents is beginning with a variety of
INSPO summaries. As the page develops, we will include tips
for fostering good character at home, and share links and
resources that we find useful.
Since all 18 qualities are included, the page is quite long.
Use the list on the left for easy navigation.
September 18, 2009: The year's first INSPO speaker was our Head of School, Cathy Mohan. She began by asking where we find initiative. Can it be bought from a store? Dug up from the ground? No ... we find it within ourselves. Mrs. Mohan shared three books, and in each story, the main character solved a problem in a unique way by showing initiative. She connected the main characters’ choices to Japhet School’s action statements for initiative. Mrs. Mohan also added four "Be" statements to give a simpler understanding of initiative: Be-gin, be alert, be helpful, and be a peacemaker. October 5, 2009: Mr. Mohan, our PE teacher, explained the difference between external and internal courage. Students’ examples of showing external courage -- or being brave to do things we don’t normally do -- were climbing a rock wall, water-skiing for the first time, or even trying an unusual food. Internal courage comes from the inside and isn’t necessarily a "physically brave" act. Showing internal courage could be defending someone in an unfair situation, giving an apology, or befriending someone new. Mr. Mohan then went through each Japhet definition of courage, and students shared whether each one was external or internal courage. Mr. Mohan also showed two humorous videos of people expressing fairly extreme external courage. He helped us see that expressing external and internal courage are very different, but that we need to express both, depending on the situation.
October 12, 2009: This split INSPO featured two separate presentations to meet the interests and attention of different-aged students. Susan Butler, UC homeroom teacher, presented to older students. Mrs. Butler once was a docent at the New Orleans Museum of Art. During her experience there, she led tours through a special exhibit entitled "The Precious Legacy," a collection of Judaica from the Jewish Museum in Prague. The 553 treasures of the exhibit represented Jewish possessions confiscated by the Nazis during WWII. She shared this experience as a way to explain the Holocaust to students, and the extraordinary courage the victims expressed during their internment.
Karen Robinson, Middle Class teacher, presented to our younger students. Mrs. Robinson shared The Hero’s Tale: A Guide for Heroic Life by T.A. Barron. Barron writes, "For a hero, what counts is character. For a celebrity, what counts is fame." Mrs. Robinson and students discussed famous people they knew, and whether they were heroes or celebrities.
November 2, 2009: Preschool teacher Jackie White led this INSPO and began with one word: “Enough! What do we have enough of?” she asked, and students replied that in the U.S. we have enough toys, enough shoes, enough TVs, and most of us have enough food. “Gratitude begins by being thankful for what we have,” she said, and encouraged students to make a list of what they have and what they’re thankful for, when they feel that “want” or when they’re feeling sad. Mrs. White then shared an inspiring video called “The Gratitude Dance,” featuring a young man, Matt Harding, who has his own special dancing style. As a way to express gratitude for life, he traveled the country and engaged others in his dance. On the heels of this video, Mrs. White shared a joyous video of her Preschoolers dancing with other classes and with administrative staff. “When you feel down, just dance!” Mrs. White said, in conclusion. “It will remind you about everything you’re grateful for.”
November 9, 2009: Senator John Pappageorge spoke at Japhet, who represents the 13th district in the State of Michigan Senate. Senator Pappageorge attended West Point, the University of Maryland, the US Army War College. He served 30 years of active duty in the Infantry including two combat tours in Vietnam. Among his many honors are the Bronze Star, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He encouraged students to make their own decisions in life thinking about “what will close the least amount of doors.” He asked students to show their gratitude for the nation’s veterans on Veterans’ Day. The INSPO had a poignant ending when a third-grader raised his hand and the Senator, thinking the boy had a question, called on him. Simply, the said said: "Thank you.”
November 16, 2009: Our first “Service” INSPO for the year introduced the year's all-school service theme of “neighborhood.” Betsy Stecker and Susan Butler engaged students in a discussion about neighborhoods. Mrs. Butler shared a wonderful slideshow about the Creekside community -– a Detroit neighborhood that her son, urban planner Sam Butler, has been involved with. Through pictures, students witnessed neighbors kayaking on the Detroit River, planting a neighborhood garden, and coming together to rebuild a new playground. Students came away with a clear idea about what a neighborhood is and how we can be good neighbors, a great foundation for our all-school service project for the holiday season, helping a neighborhood family in need.
December 4, 2009: A spilit INSPO, Primary Class teacher wrote poetry with our younger students. Together they wrote several acrostic poems representing obedience, such as:
Obey -- Behave -- Easily -- Daily -- Immediately -- Express -- Naturally -- Community -- Eager
Brenda Gaunt, Intermediate Class teacher, presented to fifth through eighth grade. She introduced them to the studies of Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg developed a chart to which he referred as the Six Levels of Moral Development. Mrs. Gaunt did not reveal the levels to the students, only the statements. She then asked students, in groups, to order them 1-6, with 1 being the least likely to produce obedience, and 6 being the most likely. Then they discussed their findings.
Level 1: I do not want to get in trouble.
Level 2: I want a reward.
Level 3: I want to please someone.
Level 4: I always follow the rules.
Level 5: I am considerate of other people.
Level 6: I have a personal code of behavior.
Back to list
Punctuality
January 4, 2010: Karen Robinson, Middle Class teacher, created a chart that captured students’ ideas about punctuality. “What happens when we lack punctuality?” Students said they receive a tardy note and they could miss an opportunity. Adults chimed in with possible late fees and frustrating other people. “What are the benefits of punctuality?” Mrs. Robinson asked. Students said they are more apt to get good grades with punctual work and will be seen as reliable. Mrs. Robinson asked what things or people are punctual. Clocks, planners, calendars, and transportation all enable punctuality, students said, and firefighters, musicians, and news reporters all must express punctuality in their jobs. Lastly, in multi-age groups, students made collages of things and people that express punctuality.
Back to list
Justice
February 1, 2010: A Japhet eighth-grader jump-started our study of justice. He gave examples of justice in school and home, and also examples from history, citing heroes Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. He spoke about Haiti, and how difficult it is for people to sense justice in their lives when they are missing the necessities of life like food and shelter. He displayed the Lady Justice statue and asked students to explain the significance of the sword, the blindfold, and the scales of balance. The student also wrote a skit, casting his classmates. In the skit, a new girl is being teased, but another student “had her back” and called out the injustice by the offending students. In the end, they all became friends.
Back to list
Respect for Self
March 1, 2010: Three counselors from the Leelanau Outdoor Center were our keynote speakers for respect for self. One counselor held a special, one-of-a-kind ring. She asked, knowing it’s one of a kind, how much students thought it was worth. It quickly grew from several hundred to "a gazillion dollars" in value, and she connected this to each student’s unlimited value in the world as a one-of-a-kind person. The INSPO ended when another counselor shared a story about a first-grader who collected money for wells in Uganda. The child grew, as did his passion for building wells. Today, that person has raised money for 546 projects in 16 different countries. Each of us, said the counselors, has a wonderful and unique purpose in the world!
Back to list
Respect for Others
Under construction
Back to list
Self-Control
Under construction
Back to list
Reliability
Under construction
Back to list
Judgment
Under construction
Back to list
Patriotism
Under construction
Back to list
Joy
Under construction
Back to list
Industry
Under construction
Back to list
Humility
Under construction
Back to list
Peace
Under construction
Back to list
Thrift
Under construction
Back to list
Personal Habits
Under construction
Japhet School’s Character Quality Curriculum is copyrighted material.
© Japhet School.
| Japhet School31201 Dorchester, Madison Heights, MI 48071Tel: 248 585-9150 © 2009 Japhet SchoolLegalSite Map |
 |
 |
 |