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  Hard-earned wisdom—Some reflections on the 2010-11 Power2Learn field research

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 12:02 pm on June 2, 2010 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  Today I spoke with a Principal from a Power2Learn Field Research site in Kansas. He took the time to reach out to me, to share some experiences and reflections from their Power2Learn experiences this year.  It was a very satisfying conversation—not because he told us that our program is the greatest thing since sliced bread, or that there aren’t any areas for improvement.   But I think his sense of perspective was important:  basically, he felt we’re 85% there; we need to make some changes to allow for more teacher flexibility in the implementation, streamline the feedback process so that educators can give us more real time feedback, and reduce the overall data collected—to name a few.

  Here’s what really stands out to me on the challenge of what we’re trying to do: 

  1. Students feel like they’re in a remedial course because of the intense and intentional focus on things they feel like they already know. When in fact, these character competencies (giving and receiving feedback, time and stress management, collaboration, creativity, acting with integrity) are something that adults work on throughout their lives.  Research shows that students need these to a higher degree in post-secondary education, the workplace, and as parents.  We did a poor job this year of making the sell to students to show them that we’re preparing them to have an advantage, over their peers who won’t have had the knowledge and skills to navigate these challenges.  
  2. Youth are particularly tough customers.  They resist things that are new and different, and they can really rally around each other and a cause—especially if that cause is one where they feel they have been wronged, or are asked to do something that is unreasonable.  In this case they really rallied around the idea that this is stupid; we already know this; it’s not fun; it feels like a class; I don’t want to do this.  Often their body language—and their actual language—conveyed: this sucks!  Andy yet, many students we spoke to, and may stories we have heard anecdotally suggest another story.  I remember the Liz Murray story; I loved the DeLasalle video; the P2L Blueprint-4-Life was awesome; I used the P2L Stress Management process in a parent-teacher conversation, etc. I don’t know why we expected students to love the program (or us).  A colleague has often said, “we shouldn’t evaluate if they liked it, but if they intend to use it.”  We do want to engage them, to understand what matches well to their learning styles, etc. But we need to do a course evaluation at the end of the year, and then again in few more years when they realize that this “stupid course” gave them survival tools for a lifetime.  One quick example: the Principal I spoke to this morning described how his son started to use P2L concepts to help make sense of and handle some struggles with sports injuries he suffered this year, and in conversations with his mother around being responsible and acting with integrity at end of year graduation parties.  
  3. We can’t teach in schools from our office.  We tried to make it teacher-proof, and there’s no such thing.  Some of the biggest complaints we heard about the program from teachers were things like:  I needed more time; I needed less time; I don’t like the voice-over you use;  I thought it was going to be a plug-and-play.  In other words, we often heard competing critiques, which makes sense since no two teachers or classrooms are alike.   Teachers also said things like, “students don’t like it.” Or, “students don’t think they need it.”  On the one hand, we tried to, and will continue to work at making this something students like, and helping them to understand why they need it. On the other hand, do students love math and think they need it?  No usually. That’s teaching, right?  You’re passionate about math and then realize that you teach students who don’t give a darn about math.  Your challenge is how to make them care about, and learn about something they’re not interested in. Well, the same is true for our programming.  We can give you essential knowledge and tools for teaching, but for now at least, teachers must be willing to make it fit their needs and the needs of their students. 

  Our next version has some exciting new changes that should build on the strengths of this first version, while allowing for important changes that will improve next year’s experience.

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  Phelps School Commencement Address

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 10:50 am on May 26, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  This past weekend I had a unique opportunity to participate in the Commencement Exercises at the Phelps School, a private school for boys in Malvern, PA.  I’ve done a lot of speeches and presentations, but this was my first commencement address.   In preparation I tried to recall something from my own high school (or college) commencement addresses.  I couldn’t recall anything. Nothing. I remember that actor Paul Sorvino offered the commencement address at my graduation from the University of Scranton, but I remember not one word or idea from the actual address. (Sorry, Mr. Sorvino. Please don’t let that dissuade you from donating to our important work at IEE).  Most people I spoke to had had a similar experience regarding commencement addresses—although most everybody had a bad experience seared in their memory—long, tedious, boring, hot.  Suffice to say, that with the power of low expectations as a guide, I went for it!

  I know these are high school students.  I know that they don’t have a lot of patience or interest in the thoughts and advice of fast-aging bald man, sweating all over his notes.  But, I also knew from the Phelps Senior Speeches I had observed the night before that there was clearly a capacity in these young men for self-reflection and a willingness to share with courage their experiences and convictions. I tried to respect them by doing the same.  For those interested, here’s a link to the address I delivered. https://backup.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8969688f596571ab9c9c

  I must say, I enjoyed this experience at a very deep level.  I genuinely respect and appreciate the vision that guides the staff and administrators at Phelps, and I enjoyed every part of the commencement experience at Phelps.  After all the work we have done with students around the country this year in our Power2 programming, I think this was an important capstone for me personally.  Like the staff at Phelps, we’ve been in the trenches with our Power2 students for a tough, but rewarding year.  At times we’ve annoyed them; they have certainly annoyed us.  But hopefully they know that we truly want the best for them, which is why we challenged them with intense and intentional programming essential for their success in school, work, and beyond.  We didn’t give them cheesy ice-breakers and other ridiculous forms of brain candy which often goes under the name “character education.”  We took away their chill time, their time for doing homework, and forced them to think and reflect on important ideas. We also worked tirelessly to respond to their critique.  That still doesn’t mean that they love it like you love a trip to the amusement park; hopefully, however, they will remember it the way you remember a challenging hike, or other similar difficult, but impactful experiences in your life.  They will always be our first graduates. We appreciate them and wish them well.

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  The Power of Public Presentation--Senior Speeches at the Phelps School

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 1:00 pm on May 25, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  I was privileged to be a part of the Phelps School Commencement Experience this past weekend.  Phelps is a private school for boys in Malvern, PA.  As part of the weekend I prepared a presentation for Friday evening that was to conclude their senior speeches, and a commencement address for Saturday.  I had worked with the Headmaster, Mike Reardon, for several weeks in preparation. Over coffee one Saturday earlier in the spring we had a chance to meet for a couple of hours to get to know each other, and for him to educate me on the schools mission and vision, and on the events of this particular school year. Mike continued to educate me via email with background information.  (A side note: amazing how helpful it is for a presenter when those bringing you in take the time to really educate you on their current and desired state!)

  We often present at conferences, and we pride ourselves on preparing something that is custom-matched to the needs of the group. Sure, it draws upon the base of work, but we don’t simply use the same speech or presentation countless times–sure would be easier if we did!  But I just don’t think that a stock presentation would allow you to really connect with the group.   So, in this case I worked hard to prepare a PowerPoint that would offer the young men a sticky message, and I tried to do so using quotes and pictures.  I also tried to use my own experiences to try and breakthrough whatever sense they might have that “successful” people that give commencement addresses were born that way–that is, successful–and that they must have known what they wanted to do, been good at, and that luck or talent must be the secret.

  I’ve been to a lot of school events, but I must say that I don’t think I’ll ever forget the Senior Speeches at Phelps.  For the Senior Speeches, each student shares their journey to Phelps and what they have learned through Phelps.  They also share their thanks with the family, teachers, and friends who have provided support and challenge during their journey.  They present their speech to the entire school body during the week, and then on Friday before graduation they share them with their senior classmates and their parents and loved ones.  The speeches I observed were simply amazing. They were heartfelt, honest, self-reflective, and courageous. They were very emotional, with many of the young men crying during their speeches, and many more crying for one another as they listened.  It wasn’t an emotional arms race; some were light and even humorous. Each, without exception, was an authentic and real sharing of the real self.  For that brief period of time all the vestiges of “fake self” were gone. All posturing–all pretending that they didn’t care, weren’t nervous, that they knew it all, that they didn’t need help–it was all gone.

  In our work we have identified 4 KEY strategies that make for powerful educational rituals and practices, :  Self-Study, Other-Study, Public Performance/Presentation, and Support & Challenge.  When these occur individually you have a good practice; when they are strategically combined you get a powerful, defining, or what we call “signature practice.”  Preparing the speech required a powerful Self-Study, which was followed by a Public Performance/Presentation, shared within a Community that was Safe and Supportive. As each person shared their Self-Study in a Public Performance/Presentation, they each received a powerful Other-Study on the Phelps Way, and on what it means to be a man of character willing to pursue “truth without fear,” which is the Phelps Motto.  I believe that technically speaking the 4 KEYS structure is what made the speeches work. But, it was clearly the fidelity with which they were carried out that made such a lasting impression last Friday.

  I was deeply impressed by the experience, and the students and staff at Phelps should be tremendously proud of this important and powerful tradition. I was truly humbled by what I observed.  For those interested, here’s a link to the PDF of the PPT and script from which I worked.  https://backup.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8969688e586675a76e9e

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  Transforming Character Education From Nice to Necessary

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 6:05 pm on May 17, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  A couple of weeks back I heard a speaker at a Rotary breakfast who was talking about taking the work of his organization from “nice to necessary.”  It’s a sticky phrase that concisely distills what we have been arguing about the kind of transformation needed in the field of character education.  There are reasons that the field of character education is a fringe field, a reason why it has had little relevance to date in competitive environments (like high schools, post-secondary schools, workforce, etc.), less still in struggling schools, urban schools, alternative schools.  It’s nice–nobody is against it, or thinks it’s a bad idea–they simply don’t see it as necessary for reducing their most persistent challenges, or enhancing their core mission.

  It’s a tough economy; it’s a tough educational climate.  Everybody’s focused on the bottom line.  That means, unfortunately, that some important things get left out, some important initiatives simply aren’t going to take place, and it’s possible that a short term view is adopted that is not in the best interest of kids.  However, it’s also possible that the tough economic and educational climate forces schools to stop doing some of what we’ve always done, simply because they’ve always done it. Too often schools operate as an “Old Country Buffet” of programs and initiatives.  However, in our experience the best schools operate more like a fine dining experience—there is often less overall (on the menu and on the plate), but it is incredibly well constructed, integrated, and distinct.  No element of a fine dining experience is extra; each is absolutely essential to the enhancing the experience—and oh that that were true in all schools! 

  In the past educators could walk past the Character Education Buffet and see lots of nice things–some posters, an ice-breaker, a word of the month, a moral of the story, an assembly, how-t0-strategies for a good handshake, etc.–and yet rarely did they find something that was absolutely necessary to reducing their most persistent challenges or enhancing their core mission of teaching and learning–which is why schools haven’t dedicated many resources (i.e., money or time) to it.  It’s not that much of what has been done in the past in character education isn’t nice or good or important at some general level. It is (although, there is certainly some stuff out there that is cheesy and contrived and void of a theory of learning, or evidence of impact).  However, it’s simply not viewed as necessary. 

  When the bottom line of performance matters, organizations rightfully want to know the old WIFM–or, “what’s in it for me?”.  We’re answering by showing them that we can provide them intense and intentional ways of teaching students to do their best work, to respect and care for one another’s ideas, their work, and their continuous improvement; we can teach them how to manage their stress and to demonstrate emotional intelligence and ethical behavior; we can teach them the role of effort, and attitude, and the habits for excellence needed to maximize their potential; we teach them to give and receive criticism, to collaborate, and to be creative–these are not nice if you can get ‘em; these are dead if you don’t have ‘em as the foundation for teaching and learning. Without the character and culture of excellence defined by the presence of these skills, the best teachers in the world, using the best pedagogies will not reduce or alleviate their most pressing challenges, or realize their potential for excellence.

  What are we doing to develop transform our programming from nice to necessary?  The Power2Achieve™  approach:

  1. develops the essential character competencies and cultural assets NEEDED FOR effective teaching and successful learning.
  2. is authentically aligned with the major educational standards and theoretical frameworks.
  3. integrates and distills the research educators need to know and be able to use.
  4. respects and empowers faculty and students through flexible programming that delivers compelling content (music, literature & videos), interactions with peers, and experiential activities, and by equipping them with the replicable tools and strategies needed for success in school, work, and beyond.
  5. provides comprehensive assessment for and of learning.

   

  We are still working hard to transform our own programming, and to transform the perspective of educators so that they can begin to see that character education, properly conceived, is absolutely necessary for realizing the core mission of schools.

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  Business Council Leader Highlights Moral & Performance Character Needed for 21st C Success

  Matt Davidson posted in IEE & Partners' News at 10:27 am on May 7, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  A recent editorial in the Des Moines Register by  Elliott Smith, Executive Director of the Iowa Business Council, highlights the essential need for developing the moral and performance character competencies targeted in our Power2 programming.  The full text submitted by Mr. Smith can be accessed here IBC op ed re IDoE visionary leadership – Apr 2010 _5_.  It’s a hard driving and nuanced perspective on preparing youth to thrive in the 21st century.  I’ve excerpted (and added highlighting) below to the parts that highlight direct connections to our approach.  With our partners at the Institute for Character Development we have have worked closely with the IBC to align our programming with their strategic growth areas.  Power2 programming is an essential part of the rigorous and innovative education being used by schools in Iowa and around the country to prepare youth for success in the 21st C.

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  April 26, 2010

  IOWA NEEDS VISIONARY LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION

  By Elliott Smith – Executive Director, Iowa Business Council

   In the 4^th century B.C., Aristotle said, “The fate of empires depends on the education of youth.”  Today, more than ever, education is the key determinant of who will best succeed in the 21^st century, when technology dominates as never before.

   It is difficult to discuss the concept of economic development without recognizing its critical dependence on a rigorous education system.  The new “typical worker” will be asked to competently apply basic math, reading, and science skills in ever-more creative and innovative business environments.  The proficiency of educators to stimulate and engage the interest of students in these areas will determine the extent to which Iowa’s economy continues to grow and compete in the world marketplace.  IBC believes:

   — Our children and young adults must be prepared for the demands of today’s global society,engaged with an innovative and vibrant preK-16 education system that:

   spurs student achievement in key subject areas like math, science, reading, problem solving, creative thinking, team building, cultural awareness, foreign languages, financial literacy, physical and nutrition education, and the arts;

  • incorporates the latest best practices and current technologies;
  • drives administrative efficiency throughout the system; 
  • promotes excellence and ethics in all aspects of performance and moral character, such as health and wellness, effort, diligence, work ethic, positive attitude, self-discipline, honesty, respect, dependability, and integrity;
  • encourages and facilitates professional development for teachers and merit-based assessment of their performance; and,
  • enhances a meaningful lifelong learning experience for all Iowans.

   — To be most effective, the academic opportunities for the flow of students between Iowa’s secondary and post-secondary school systems need to be as seamless as possible.  It is essential to have healthy, aggressive, and accessible post-secondary institutions that offer advanced learning opportunities to high schools.  

  This state owes much of its current stature to the investment of human and financial resources made by past generations.  Going forward, our obligation is to renew those commitments in education, research, and innovation.  This will ensure that Iowans continue to benefit from the remarkable opportunities offered by the global economy and its considerable underpinning in technology.

   # # #

   Elliott Smithis Executive Director of the Iowa Business Council based in Des Moines.  He can be reached at 515.246.1700 or esmith@iowabusinesscouncil.org.

   

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  New Publication From IEE in the International Research Handbook on Values Education

  Matt Davidson posted in IEE & Partners' News at 4:19 pm on May 5, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  On May 1st there was a reception at the American Education Research Association (AERA) in Denver, Colorado to release the  the launch of the International Research Handbook on Values Education and Student Wellbeing, which contains a chapter by myself, Tom Lickona, and Vlad Khmelkov: The Power of Character: Needed for, and Developed from, Teaching and Learning. Terry Lovat, from The University of Newcastle Australia, was the lead editor.   Richard Pring, Emeritus Professor of Education and former Dean of the Faculty of Education at Oxford University, wrote the preface and introduction to the handbook, while Nel Noddings, Emeritus Professor of Education at Stanford University, served as chief reviewer for the project. 

  Handbooks like this tend to be expensive for the average person to purchase (I guess I would consider myself average, since even for me, a person with a pretty serious book-habit, $350 is a lot!).  However, it is an impressive piece of scholarship “informed by the most up-to-date research from around the world, as well as examples of good practice. This handbook analyzes values education in the context of a range of school-based measures associated with student wellbeing. These include social, emotional, moral and spiritual growth – elements that seem to be present where intellectual advancement and academic achievement are being maximized.” 

  Our chapter represents some of our ongoing efforts to contribute to the overall knowledge of the field of character education, while specifically trying to influence schools of education.  Tom Lickona and our partner organization, The Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, provide the primary leadership for education and dissemination on our approach to future educators, schools of education, and the field of character education generally.  It’s an important aspect of advancing our work, since it’s vital for our approach to be part of the education and public policy debate, even as we seek to build a wider network of demonstration sites.  Concrete, replicable, researchable programming is our core focus, but we still strive to ground our work in high quality research, that brings rigor and credibility to those using our programming.  Tom is a tireless ambassador for character education generally, and for our Smart & Good approach specifically.  Those interested in our chapter can check out our website for forthcoming links. Also, for those with above average interest (and/or those with influence in a school of education, library, etc), here’s a link to the handbook site  http://www.springer.com/education+&+language/book/978-90-481-8674-7.

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  Character Education in Taiwan--a National Priority

  Matt Davidson posted in IEE & Partners' News at 12:02 pm on May 5, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  A few months back we had a request to keynote a conference in character education in Taipei, Taiwan sponsored by the Common Wealth Magazine Group.  We weren’t able to accommodate their request given our current commitments, so instead they asked to come and visit us and to spend time interviewing and recording us regarding our approach to character education.  We field a fair number of international requests on our work  (with inquiries in the past two or three months from Canada, Singapore, Iran, and Papua New Guinea); it is very humbling and inspiring to experience our work on an international stage.  We are still a small team; we’re working hard every day to refine our programs and materials to a point where they have deep and lasting impact; and, like most non-profits, we’re trying to raise the money needed to keep our organization alive and well. Bottom line: we’re a small, hand-to-mouth organization hustling to make a difference.  So, it’s a little strange to take time out of a busy week to welcome guests from the other side of the world, who show up simply wanting to learn about what we do and how we do it.

  I’m not going to pretend that I’m an international man of intrigue–heck, I’m not even a national man of intrigue!  I love the idea of intenational travel, but with a young family and a young organization I often say no to international work because it’s literally and figuratively too big for me to get my arms around.  I firmly believe that our Power2Programming is contextually calibrated in a way that is nuanced beyond anything we’ve ever done; but it takes hard work to make the changes needed to make it work in different contexts like school, work, athletics and home–in the U.S! It’s not what we know about our work, it’s what we don’t know about the cultural nuances of a foreign country, that make me wonder if what we’re doing would matter or make a difference to other countries around the world.

  Well, our visitors, Ya-Huei Chen and Huan-Shih Yang, quickly helped me to remember one of Harry Stack Sullivan’s great insights:  “Human beings are more simply human, than other.”  Taiwan is indeed a unique culture, many ways different than our own. But they have a deep belief in the importance of character and culture. And, they struggle with many of the same basic challenges we face:  how do you develop character and culture when you have different political, religious, and educational viewpoints?  How do you develop character and culture in and intense and intentional way when you have parents who are increasingly busy and time-challenged?  How do you develop character and culture in an intense and intentional way without educators feeling that character education is “one more thing”?  How do you explain that there is a new science of character education that goes beyond intuition and intention, while respecting the time-tested wisdom and practices? How does one develop the character NEEDED FOR youth who are growing up in a fast-paced, media-driven culture, that is dramatically different than the culture experienced by their parents, to say nothing of their grandparents?  How do we live a balanced, purposeful, and fulfilling life, making the most of our talents, and yet nourishing important relationships in our life.

  It was a fascinating conversation.  I am even more humbled by this important undertaking we have committed our life’s work to, and reassured that for all our differences, we are still a shared human family trying to figure out how to develop the character and culture needed for success in school, work, and beyond.  I think our conversation with Ya-Huei and Huan-Shih is only getting started.

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  There are no innocent bystanders.

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 4:10 pm on April 7, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Bullying, South Hadley

  I continue to try and make sense of the  tragic case of Phoebe Prince, the 15 year-old South Hadley, Massachusetts student who committed suicide following months of bullying by her high school peers.   The transfer student from Ireland was allegedly bullied in a vicious and systematic way that made  her life so miserable she chose to end it.

  What is perhaps most troubling is that the victimizers in this case aren’t your typical big muscle, low self-esteem, pick on others to make up for your deficiencies,  kind of bullies. These cruel perpetrators of hatred and vengeance are by all accounts good students, from a good school, in a good town–and almost all are girls!

  This tragedy brought to mind three pertinent ideas from our work:

  First, the notion that we shape the culture, the culture shapes the character.  The perpetrators clearly “lack character.” But, more importantly their “bad character” is developed and reinforced by the culture that has been shaped. In this case the culture shaping forces are students, faculty and staff, parents, and the wider community.  An acute focus on “bullying behaviors” misses the fact that the bullying behaviors are used to preserve cultural norms, in the way that gangs define and regulate membership.  Reports indicate that the culture is so strong that even in the wake of the tragedy and all the media attention, those who wish to preserve the anti-social norms have intimidated those speaking out, and have even trashed online sites set up to memorialize the victim.

  Second, the idea that in an Ethical Learning Community you must grapple with the difficult issues, or what we call “the elephants in the living room.” Once again we find out after the fact that people knew, but maintained the code of silence. We find out that the will to preserve some positive public perception prevented this community from grappling with a difficult issue in their midst.  No community is perfect.  No community evolves to a point of excellence and then simply maintains itself.  It is a continuous process of self-reflection and growth, which requires honesty, humility, and courage.  It can be painful to confront them; but the pain of ignoring them, as we see in this case, is almost always far greater.

  Finally, sadly, there are no innocent bystanders.  Either you’re part of the solution or you’re part of the problem.  The importance of collective responsibility, a sense of needing to care for self and others is an essential element of an Ethical Learning Community. It is a simple idea, but it is extraordinarily counter cultural.  All those members of the community who justified inactivity by the belief that “they weren’t personally doing the bullying” bear some responsibility in this tragedy–and it looks like that includes to some degree students, staff, administrators, and parents. It’s clear that the pressure to “mind your own business” was strong (and is strong, based on the continued efforts to intimidate those speaking out now). However, as we have learned in so many tragedies before, “the easiest way for bad things to happen is for good people to do nothing.”  I’m sure that this will be a difficult life-long reality for many in this community.

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  The New Paradigm of Character Education--Lesson 2

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 11:51 am on March 26, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  We recently had a visit from a group of visitors from the Marsiling Secondary School in Singapore.  It is always fascinating and inspiring to learn from others who are working hard on shared endeavors; it is particularly inspiring when you can gain an international perspective.  It is also helpful when you try to distill for others what you think is essential for them to know about the work you are doing, and to see what resonates with them.  These experiences provide a chance for self-reflection, and for a validity check on your ideas.  Clearly the Marsiling school group was interested in our Culture of Excellence & Ethics Assessment (CEEA), which would help them benchmark growth in the development of character and culture.

  I think what stood out to me as an enduring message we were wanting to deliver to them about what’s different in our Power2 approach is the intensity and intentionality.  For me this stands out as hallmark quality of the new paradigm of character education.  As a field I think we spent a lot of time saying to people, “character education:  this isn’t something new; you probably already do lots of things that would be considered character education.” And so people would make a list of all their character education inputs:  we have kids do some goal setting, we greet them at the door, we do a character word a week, we have an awards ceremony–and on it would go.  This would invariably lead to the conclusion:  we already do this (character education).  But, there are some problems with this thinking: first, it doesn’t tell us how well you’re doing these things. It also doesn’t tell us if what you’re doing is making a difference (we’re not measuring outcomes, we’re measuring inputs).  Further, it doesn’t tell us if  our intentions for these activities matches our need.  Sure we do all those things, but is the reason for doing them and the way we’re doing them giving us the outcome we hoped for?

  Our Power2 approach develops character and culture with the kind of intensity and intentionality that a coach develops basketball skills or a teacher develops math skills. Most of what is typically done today to develop character and culture isn’t intense enough or intentional enough.  A word a week, a handshake at the door, a poster on the wall, an award ceremony, a service project—these aren’t bad practices.  They’re just not nearly intense or intentional enough to expect demonstrable change in the target competencies needed for enhancement of an organization’s core mission–which for schools would be teaching and learning.  

  Putting students in groups doesn’t mean they know how to collaborate. Showing them a quote on integrity doesn’t mean they’ve got the knowledge or tools to put integrity in action.  Shaking hands at the door doesn’t mean they know how to communicate so they understand and are understood.   Posting your classroom rules doesn’t mean they have shared norms for positive and productive group work.  So, as we’ve discussed before: we identify the ESSENTIAL character competencies needed for teaching and learning. Once we’ve got these we must develop them with intentionality and intensity sufficient for making a demonstrable impact.  Our  Power2 programming delivers intense and intentional programming focused on the specific areas of need. 

  Wait it minute. Isn’t this a heck of a lot more work than the old paradigm where we told people, “this is no big deal, you already do lots of these things”?  Yes.  Absolutely.  So, then why would an organization or individual committ to taking the time or effort it requires to develop these essential character competencies and cultural assets?  Because, if they don’t they have a very difficult–if not impossible–time achieving their performance potential.  Since if we heed Lesson 1 (Identify the ESSENTIAL character competencies and cultural assets), these outcomes we’re going after aren’t “nice if you can get ‘em”. They’re ESSENTIAL for enhancing our core mission and that’s why it’s worth the intensity and intentionality (Lesson 2).

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  The new paradigm of character development--lesson 1

  Matt Davidson posted in Character Blog at 1:53 pm on March 22, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  I’ve worked in the field of character education for more than 15 years.  The focus of our work has been to intentionally develop character and culture in a way that prevents the most persistent problems and mobilizes the deepest potential of individuals and organizations.  At every phase of our work we’ve evolved by trying to stay close to the front lines.  We’ve always learned from and with educators, coaches, business leaders and parents.  However, in this most recent phase of our work we’ve never worked harder at understanding the needs of our customers and trying to build programs that really work for them. In the next several blogs I’ll try to distill and share some of these hard-earned lessons.

  Lesson 1:  Understand the customer and context.  Okay.  That’s really a Peter Drucker lesson.  But, like many of Drucker’s profoundly simple ideas, it is so subtle that you have to return to it again and again to really get it.  We worked primarily with schools.  We were successful mostly with elementary schools, with little or no impact at middle and high school levels–and basically zero relevance for elite sports teams or competitive businessess  Why?  High school educators don’t want to do this stuff, right?  Well, certainly some don’t, but most frankly are more concerned with their job–teaching and learning.  We wanted them to care about developing character.  Why? Because, we argued we need a more just, more compassionate, more honest society. But they needed kids to respect each other, not cheat, and to work hard. 

  So what did we do in our Power2 programming?  We focused on customer and context.  We asked ourselves what are the most persistent challenges, what are the most compelling goals, and what, given the answers to these questions, is the role of character and culture.  What resulted was what one colleague, Chip Weiant referred to as ”radical contextualization.”  Basically it means that we seek to identify the individual competencies and cultural assets needed for a given context.  Then, we build specific programs for building those assets. 

  For example, in our work with high schools we understand that teachers want to teach their content. They often find out later that they have to teach students–who may or may not be interested in learning.  So we help them to intentionally build the character and culture needed for teaching and learning. 

  In the business context no amount of learning, technology, or training can overcome the fact that the organizational mission is fulfilled by human beings, who need to work together, communicate, balance priorities, manage stress, meet deadlines and preserve integrity.  They often don’t need advanced training in abstract ethical frameworks. They need to develop the character and competencies of excellence and ethics required for their business context.

  In each context we help our customers shape shared norms for working together, develop the skills skills of collaboration, communication, and negotiation; we help develop a culture of continuous improvement built on effort and attitude; we help maximize the talent potential; we help build a culture of emotional intelligence and integrity; we help manage time, priorities, and stress; we help balance a life of achievement with a life of purpose.

  In the new paradigm of character development we’re not forcing “life-lessons” into classrooms, we’re collaborating on lessons essential for life in the classroom, and by extension, essential for life.  We’re not saying that people in business need to be experts in ethics; but, they should be prepared for the specific moral and performance character challenges they will encounter in their work. Regardless of your age you still need to intentionally develop the character and culture needed for success in your field of endeavor.  Character development isn’t a bank account that can filled up in high school, or college, or in your initial HR training. 

  Don’t think because we focus on what’s most proximal to our customers that we’re giving up on the greater societal character enterprise.  We’re just going after the larger vision by developing character and culture by focusing on the character needs of each customer.  We’re not their yet, but what a difference when you understand the customer and context you’re trying to serve.

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