Ally Olsen was notified by a teacher that her fiancee’s daughter, Kaylee, was teasing a classmate for weeks about the clothes she wore. After taking to Facebook to find out what an appropriate punishment might be, she decided to take Kaylee shopping. She bought clothes that Kaylee deemed ugly and then made her wear them to school for two days.

An article on Yahoo describes what happened:

“Although Kaylee cried, the next day she headed to school wearing one of the outfits under a coat that she had zipped up to her neck. When she came home that afternoon, Kaylee said the kids laughed at her for wearing ‘pajamas.’ She also felt so guilty that she pulled her classmate aside and apologized for her behavior the previous day.”

This is taking some pretty drastic steps to teach a lesson about the damage and pain bullying can cause, and it appears to have worked. But was it the best way to have handled this situation?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Learn more about CHARACTER COUNTS! bullying prevention workshops.

The Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund

Oklahoma Strong Disaster Relief Fund 

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma

United Way of Central Oklahoma

The Salvation Army 

As a reminder, make sure any organization you are donating to is a legitimate one. Sadly, there are scammers out there who look to take advantage of tragic events.

Secondary students will appreciate the significance of the holiday by working together to design a small-scale memorial that honors the men and women who have served our country. See the lesson plan here.

Elementary students will listen to the song “Taps” and then devise a song of of their own that focuses on the importance of remembrance and reminds people to do the right thing. See the lesson plan here.

Browse the Lesson Plan Bank for more activities that help you teach the Six Pillars to young people.

That may seem like a long way off, but when the new school year starts it will be right around the corner. That’s why we’ve already posted the first installment of resources that will help you plant the seeds for a fruitful and fun CC! Week. Just fill out our quick and easy registration form to gain free access to all of these resources.

You’ll find tools and guides to help you get the word out, and great ideas for celebrating the week. As always, we recommend getting young people involved in planning and organizing activities. We’ve posted resources to help you (and them) with that too. Need help convincing your colleagues? We’ve got a talking points sheet listing the benefits of celebrating CC! Week.

Also, to celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’re offering four fun contests — essay writing, video making, community outreach and poster design — for students and schools to participate in and show off their character.

Visit here for updates and details on these contests and register for CC! Week today!

By Barbara Gruener

I’ve worked as a school counselor and character coach at Westwood-Bales in Friendswood for a dozen years now. Enough years so that my first class of first graders is graduating from high school this month, and that’s prompted a lot of reflective thinking. I know this class of seniors pretty well, not only because they were my first elementary school students, but also because my son is graduating with them.

So I’m pensive about some serious stuff: What seeds did I plant so that they’ll graduate 12 years later with honors, and not just academic honors, but honorable character as well? How did I treat them during their formative years? How did I react in times of stress? What did I say that they’ll always remember? What did I do that they’ll never forget? What could I have done better? Was I positively influential in their journey through the public school system? What will they do for good in the next chapter of their lives? The list of questions that I’ve been pondering could go on and on.

And while I may not ever know the answers to some of them, what I do know is that I am filled with admiration for the graduates in the class of 2013 – for the diligence and perseverance that it takes to stay the course and earn a high school diploma. I am proud of the fine men and women they’re becoming, and our future looks bright with them in the lead.

Today’s youth are growing up in some very difficult and often turbulent times. Stressors abound at every turn. Curve balls head their way at warp speed that they never see coming. And yet, they battle through adversity to find that there’s always something valuable on the other side.

I’ve seen a whole lot of resilience in these 21st-century citizens. Young men and women whose lives go on even when Mom or Dad (or both!) are incarcerated, literally or figuratively. Boys and girls who are tired and hungry, but still come to school ready to learn. Students who are suffering through losses so grave that they think they’ll never make it through, but still manage to hurdle those insurmountable odds to find their character and strength. Just what IS their super power?

First and foremost, it has to be their character. The students who survive and thrive are those who are in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing. They are heroes of integrity because they’ll make good, solid choices even when it’s not the popular thing to do. They are heroes of compassion because they’re putting others’ needs before their own. They are heroes of respect because they are always courteous and they follow the Golden Rule. These young people are going to make a positive difference on our future and make an impact wherever they go.

Parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, counselors and people everywhere — look around your homes, your schools and your community and find those young people who serve with a smile, who enrich your life, who you’re delighted to know, and thank them for using their “Pillar power” to make our world a better place. Congratulations, class of 2013! I wish you the highest, the deepest and the best of what the world has to offer. Wherever you go, go with your whole heart and let your virtues be your guide.

Check out more of Barbara Gruener’s work at her blog, Corner on Character.

Thank you, teachers!

Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6-10, 2013) is a time to recognize educators for the crucial role they play in educating and mentoring young people each day and preparing them for life’s challenges.

At CHARACTER COUNTS!, we’re honoring dedicated teachers everywhere with a 15% discount on all products in our online store through May 10. Just use promo code APPRECIATE during checkout.*

Treat yourself and your classroom to some great character-building products at a reduced price this week. For everything you do, you deserve our admiration, respect and gratitude. Shop now »

CHARACTER COUNTS! Week is coming!

Join us in making character development an important part of childhood and education. Sign up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of CHARACTER COUNTS! Week (Oct. 20-26, 2013). You’ll get plenty of FREE materials and lesson plans, plus the opportunity to participate in fun contests and activities. Register now »

Call 866-801-6188 or visit charactercounts.org to learn about our products and training services.

*Discount may not be combined with other offers or discounts.

Principals are the ones who must face the hardest challenges, such as figuring out ways to do more for their school with less resources available. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) ran an interesting feature on what makes for an effective school principal in its Whole Child Newsletter recently, and it’s certainly worth a read.

Some of the article’s important takeaways include:

1. More than a third of readers surveyed believed that “the most important standard is for principals to have a clear vision and inspire and engage others in developing and realizing it.”
2. When evaluating a principal, don’t look at the person. Look at the effects of his/her leadership through school climate, student achievement and teacher effectiveness.
3. Other important qualities for principals to exhibit include: fostering a cohesive culture of learning; modeling professional and ethical behavior; and continually monitoring the teaching and learning process.

For more on how CHARACTER COUNTS! can help improve your school’s climate, click here.

In this fun and interactive exercise, students will learn that conserving natural resources and reducing waste products like paper help protect our environment and our future.

View the lesson plan here and the accompanying handout here.

With both the White House and a National Rifle Association task force calling for more police officers based in schools, this approach to school safety is getting a closer look.

A recent New York Times article examines the effectiveness, and some of the unintended consequences, of hiring police officers to deter crime and keep students safe from each other. The article reports a surge in arrests or misdemeanor charges against children in schools where officers are stationed. Critics charge that most of the cases are essentially nonviolent — scuffles, truancy, cursing at teachers — that are better handled in the principal’s office.

As Denise C. Gottfredson, a criminologist at the University of Maryland who studies school violence, told the Times: “There is no evidence that placing officers in the schools improves safety. And it increases the number of minor behavior problems that are referred to the police, pushing kids into the criminal system.”

Civil rights groups, including the Washington, D.C.-based Advancement Project, object in a recent report to the disproportionate number of arrests and citations given to students who are black, Hispanic or have disabilities.

In Texas, where police officers based in schools reportedly write more than 100,000 misdemeanor tickets each year, youth advocacy and civil rights groups have filed a complaint with the federal Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.

However, in parts of the state, according to the Times article, the outcry may be changing the approach to policing in schools:

With new guidelines and training, ticketing within the Houston schools was reduced by 60 percent in one year. Citations for “disruption of classes,” for example, fell to 124 between September and February, from 927 in the same period last year.

“Writing tickets is easy,” one of the Houston officers told the Times. “We do it the hard way, talking with the kids and coaching them.”

What do you think?

CHARACTER COUNTS! offers workshops and training seminars to improve the climate of a school, supplanting coarse and violent behavior with a culture of respect and kindness. Learn more »

Photo: Dallas Morning News