As shared at Back to School Night, Lincoln School is working this year to develop hard character traits in our students.
Recent research by Dr. Duckworth, Dr. Powell, and Dr. Dweck on character education has examined why some people are able to be successful while others cannot overcome obstacles. Researchers have discovered that successful people often possess hard character traits. As Don Schula stated, “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” Researchers divided character traits into two categories: hard and soft traits. Examples of soft traits are kindness, fairness, respect, honesty, etc. while hard traits consist of courage, self-discipline, perseverance, resilience, optimism, etc. Lincoln school has previously developed soft traits in its students, but wanted to compliment the soft character trait development with the hard traits.
Each month students will be exposed to one hard trait, which will be defined, modeled and its application analyzed in characters, historical and scientific leadership analysis, and in students’ ability to apply the trait.
This month Lincoln School is focusing on the hard character trait- Courage. Courage is the ability to do something that may be frightening or to have strength in the face of pain or grief. We are encouraging students to take chances and understand sometimes things will work out great and sometimes we may not get the outcome we want. People with courage will try again! We also are discussing how it is courageous to stand up for who and what you believe. Some students have helped a friend when a classmate was not being kind while other students voiced their differing opinion. It is wonderful to see children express themselves and not always conform to peer pressure. Parents are encourage to share their stories of courage and explain how they overcome failure and disappointment. Parents may also want to reach out to extended family members who may have some historical perspectives to share. Keep talking and sharing!