Traits and Attributes

Students identify and accept who they are, including their dominant personality traits (e.g., outgoing or introverted, timid or bold) and they accurately assess their physical, mental, emotional, and moral attributes (including strengths they can build on and weaknesses they can improve).

Key Beliefs:

I will be a better student if I act on the following beliefs:

I can get help if my emotions make me want to hurt myself or others.
My emotions don’t control my actions—I control my actions.

Application:

Know how to access information from counseling centers, help-lines, and other interventions.
Create learning experiences that include specific ways to help students deal with an upsetting situation at school (e.g., being left out, losing, being rejected, being teased).

Quotations:

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” – William James
“Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force.” – Tom Blandi
“I am convinced that attitude is the key to success or failure in almost any of life’s endeavors. Your attitude-your perspective, your outlook, how you feel about yourself, how you feel about other people-determines your priorities, your actions, your values. Your attitude determines how you interact with other people and how you interact with yourself.” – Carolyn Warner
“Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.” – Charles Swindoll
“A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.” – Anonymous
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way, your mind looks at what happens.” – Kahlil Gibran
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” – Winston Churchill
“The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That’s the day we truly grow up.” – John C. Maxwell

Lessons:

Journaling or Class Discussion

Write down the name of a person that has a good, positive attitude all of the time. After they write a name down, ask them what makes them think that and discuss further.
Write down the name of a person who has a negative attitude. Be sure to instruct students not to choose a name that is in their classroom. Then, discuss why they think that person is always negative.
What are some things that you would like to change to help you be a more positive person? Ask students to name a few things and allow them to take turns answering the question.

You’re Not My Type

Have each student talk about someone they would never want to meet, listing all the negative traits of which they can think. Have a template on the board, “You’re not my type. I would never want to know someone who is _________________.” List all of the negative traits you would like to include. Now have the students take turns doing the same. Again, you may want to talk to the students about this being a fun, silly activity, and make sure they are not referencing any specific student when they make these remarks. Depending on the class, this may be challenging. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Videos:

A Valuable Lesson on Attitude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NAteYgpsQY