EXCELLENCE & ETHICS

Updates from September, 2009

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  2009 Smart & Good Schools Summer Institute

  RichParisi posted in IEE & Partners' News at 3:29 pm on September 17, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: summer institute (2), update

  The 15^th annual Summer Institute in Character Education, “Maximizing the Power of Character for Teaching and Learning,” hosted by the Center for the 4^th and 5^th Rs and IEE, was held June 29 – July 1 at the Sperry Center at SUNY Cortland. Over 140 teachers, administrators, and staff attended from 14 different states and 3 foreign countries (China, Nigeria, and Puerto Rico).  General sessions were delivered by Michele Borba, Usha Balamore, Hal Urban, and our own Tom, Matt D., Rich and Phil. Matt C. provided valuable assistance with triad planning and discussion. Vlad, along with Mary Guilfoile, of The Glenholme School in CT, presented a session on Monday, “Using Data to Plan and Improve Your Character Education Program.” Eight different lunch-time workshops were offered on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and Vitamin L performed an upbeat, inspirational concert on Tuesday.  

  Tom did a Bonus Session on “Power to Parent,” Matt a Bonus Session on “Power to Coach.”  All general sessions and several workshops were videotaped by students from Cortland High School’s Video Club.  Dawn Van Hall of the College’s Sperry Center is making DVDs of the general sessions and the workshop by Vlad and Mary. The Center will send copies to each school team or individual that participated and will also upload videos of the sessions, the bonus sessions, and selected workshops onto our website.

  

   

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  Is Caring a Performance Character trait?

  Eric Martin posted in Character Blog at 9:08 am on September 17, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Health Care, moral character (2), performance character (4)

  Recently, my colleagues and I facilitated an extensive training series with the entire staff at a regional medical center in Iowa. The focus of our work was on character and ethics in the workplace, specifically in the healthcare environment.

  We introduced the concepts of both Performance and Moral Character through an opening activity where the participants identified who in their life helped guide them to success both personally and professionally. As they shared aloud the person and traits that had an impact on their life, we captured the traits in two columns on a large flip chart in the front of the room.

  The word “caring” quickly surfaced in each of the sessions and was initially listed on the Moral Character column in our exercise as an obvious trait associated with being our “best self.” The employees had a great discussion around the fact that in health care, caring is essential for them to do their “best work”- which we know would be classified as a Performance Character trait. We as facilitators agreed with their insightful dialogue and rationale. We listed caring in both columns.

  This post is not to question the definition of Performance and Moral Character but to illustrate how critically important both concepts are in the workplace. It was very gratifying to hear a cross section of health care professionals and support staff engaged in a conversation around the importance of character in the workplace. Can you think of other professions that might list certain traits as both Moral and Performance Character? How often do you pull from your moral character to do your best work? How often do you pull from your performance character to be your best self?

  Eric Martin
  Director of Outreach
  Institute for Character Development
  Smart & Good Regional Center-Iowa