2016 SIGMA SIGMA SIGMA Character Essay Winners
We are pleased to announce the 2016 Sigma Sigma Sigma Character Essay Winners. Tri Sigma is the only national student member organization conducting CHARACTER COUNTS at all their campus locations having trained local leaders on the program. We are very proud of our partnership with this amazing group of women. 2016 Essay Contest Winners 1st […]
#CharacterEdChat Returns to Twitter
Join us for the return of #CharacterEdChat in October! The Character Ed Chat is a great forum for educators to share best practices, key instructional strategies and experiences with others that helped improve school climate and/or create a community of character. Event Details: Host: @charactercounts Guest: Barbara Gruener, School Counselor, Author, Speaker, Trainer for CC! […]
Irena Sendler: Unsung Hero and Paragon of Responsibility
Guest post by Sonia Lowman Imagine having to talk parents into giving up their children with the promise that you only may be able to save them from an otherwise near-sure fate of death. Could you picture carrying this enormous responsibility for the safety of total strangers, all the while risking your own life? That […]
Has our weekly #CharacterEdChat made you smile? It will this Thursday.
Spotted any good billboards lately? There are some positively positive ones popping up around the country as part of the Smile Across America campaign, which will culminate in the International Day of Happiness on March 20. In San Antonio, one of the billboards carries the message that “Superheroes are real. You’re one of them.” Barbara Gruener, a veritable […]
CC! in the News: The Alliance for Student Activities Looks at Character Education
Character education is not extra. Instead, it must be integrated into the fabric of our schools so that it becomes a habit that drives decisions, outcomes, and the overall culture. That statement, from a recent article in the newsletter of the Alliance for Student Activities, sums up the longstanding approach of CHARACTER COUNTS!. The article — titled Shaping […]
It’s National School Counseling Week!
Have you thanked a school counselor this week? The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has set aside February 2-6 this year as National School Counseling Week. The idea is to create awareness of the services that school counselors provide to your school family. Here’s how the ASCA website puts it: National School Counseling Week 2015, “Celebrate School […]
Show the White House Your Character(s)
It’s the second annual White House Student Film Festival! And it’s open to U.S. students, grades K-12. This year’s theme — The Impact of Giving Back — is perfect for your CHARACTER COUNTS! program. The White House says it’s looking for videos that “tell a story about paying it forward, about community service, or what making a […]
A Few of My Favorite Things
A song that comes to mind as I watch people exchanging not only gifts but pleasantries this time of year is My Favorite Things, beautifully sung by the talented Julie Andrews in the movie The Sound Of Music. But as I reflect on my personal favorite things, the Art Buchwold adage — “The best things in […]
From the Director’s Chair: Memorable Moments of 2014 — and What’s Coming in 2015
By Jeff McMurdy, National Director of CHARACTER COUNTS! Memorable Moments When I review the year that is about to end, I could measure it in many ways but the metric that matters most to me is how did we grow the mission? It’s not an easy metric to calculate. You can use raw data like […]
Six Ways to Warm Your World With Kindness
Tomorrow — November 13 — is World Kindness Day. To help you get in the spirit, we’re posting a list of six ways you can show kindness. Learn about the day, and get more ideas, on the website of the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. This list is excerpted from Barbara Gruener’s keynote address to […]