Living the Dream: 10 Steps to Raising Kids With Character
Martin Luther King dreamed of a time when we would all be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. But what has happened to character in our materialistic society? Here are 10 expert tips for raising children with the kind of character MLK dreamed of.
A Message to Black Moms: How Can We Raise Children With Character
King dreamed of a time when we would be judged not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character. But our society has become so obsessed with acquiring things, physical manifestations of success and keeping up with the Joneses that the concept of our character only seems to come into play when a high profile athlete cheats on his wife.
Then character is neatly tucked away until the next scandal.
“We have come to measure success by jobs, grades, test scores, awards, and the cars we drive. We have created an atmosphere that places image and results over inspiration and the process of learning. Nonetheless, inspiration and the learning process remain at the core of growth,” says Malcolm Gauld, co-author of the parenting book, The Biggest Job We’ll Ever Have. Gauld and his wife also run The Biggest Job parenting seminars.
I’m intrigued.
Gauld is also the president of The Hyde Schools, www.hyde.edu a group of public and private college preparatory schools and programs that have been involved with character education for years. Here’s what else he has to say:
“In a character culture, achievement is valued, but principles are valued more. That is, what you stand for is more important than how you are stacking up against others.”
“Character is inspired, not imparted,” he says “We cannot pour it into our kids or our families. It takes work, and sometimes we put our relationships at risk when we hold to our convictions as parents. But the strongest relationships are those resting on a foundation of principles.”
I found some great insight on building character in some of their principles, what they call the “10 Priorities”. I’ll share them here.
PRIORITY #1—TRUTH OVER HARMONY
PRIORITY #2—PRINCIPLES OVER RULES
PRIORITY #3—ATTITUDE OVER APTITUDE
PRIORITY #4—SET HIGH EXPECTATIONS and LET GO OF THE OUTCOMES
PRIORITY #5—VALUE SUCCESS AND FAILURE
PRIORITY #6—ALLOW OBSTACLES TO BECOME OPPORTUNITIES
PRIORITY #7—TAKING HOLD AND LETTING GO
PRIORITY #8—CREATE A CHARACTER CULTURE
PRIORITY #9—HUMILITY TO ASK FOR AND RECEIVE HELP
PRIORITY #10—INSPIRATION: JOB #1
You can learn more at http://www.greatparenting101.com
I, have got a lot of work to do.