Newspapers / Grimsley High School Student … / Oct. 27, 2010, edition 1 / Page 2
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2 news October 27,2010 Superintendent initiates Character Education program to encourage respect, morals BY JUSTINE REVELLE Reporter Various changes have re cently occurred, from new teachers to a revised tardy policy, and members of the Guilford County School Dis trict are exerting much effort to improve the educational system. Among these modifi cations is the Character Edu cation Program, which in volves teaching students about various aspects of becoming honorable citizens by develop ing them into well-rounded individuals. Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green man dated that all Guilford County schools implement this pro gram. As expected, Grimsley teachers are working hard to integrate Character Education into their lessons, hoping that diplomas will not be all that students take home with them upon graduation. Freshman counselor Cheryl Bolick serves as the school's representative on the superintendent's committee. She explained that one of the following character traits will be the focus each month: re sponsibility, respect, kindness, courage, integrity, self-disci pline, and perseverance. Con centration for these specific traits will be one of the high lights of homeroom sessions on Whirlie Wednesdays. "A couple Wednesdays a month, we will air video clips, and discussions will follow the broadcasts," said Bolick. "The clips will emphasize the char acter trait of the month and will celebrate the importance of Character Education." To enhance the program, the Character Education Commit tee on campus will sponsor poster competitions during second semester. Students will design artwork illustrating the trait of the month and then vote on their favorites. "We wanted to spend the first semester familiarizing the \ It Mi Freshman counselor Cheryl Bolick, who represents the Whirlies on Superintendent Mo Green’s Character Development committee, discusses options with science teacher Troy Corsner for his upcoming presentation. Bolick’s committee developed lessons for Whirlie Wednesdays that included homeroom discussions and movie clips exploring themes relating to courage, responsibility, integrity, and respect. Elliott photo students with the traits and helping them to become aware of what they mean," said Bolick. "The posters will emphasize not only the traits, but also the other things we will be cel ebrating. The winning ones [posters] will be on display at school and will air.on the scroll ing announcements," said Bolick. "By making character education exciting and fun, the faculty hopes that students will become more inclined to prac tice the behavior emphasized." Initiation of the program took place on October 13, the date of the Preliminary Scho lastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). While sophomores and juniors took the exam, the freshmen attended two separate meet ings. Half of the ninth grade watched a bullying video in their homerooms. Their teach ers had scripts to introduce the topic and to pose questions en couraging further discussion. Students also completed sur veys to gauge their perceptions on school climate in regard to bullying. Simultaneously to these homeroom activities, the other half of the freshman class visited the auditorium where curriculum facilitator Ashly Morrison and freshman coun selor Tom Lauer informed stu dents about graduation re quirements, which introduced the new Service Learning com ponent of Character Education. Principal Anna Brady also conducted her mini one-on- one talks with the class. , The two groups switched locations at 10:15 am. Bolick collected all of the surveys and reported the results to Leadership Team. Later programs will feature a variety of guest speakers. Sci ence teacher Troy Corsner, oth erwise known as Captain Phys ics and a member of the Char acter Education Committee, will speak about one of the char acter traits, and a soldier from the U.S. Army will address stu dents on the subject of courage. Although the focus is to present Character Education with an enthusiastic approach. some topics will require a more serious tone so that students understand the importance of the issues. During the months of November and December, the committee plans to discuss the concept of tolerance. "We want to use a video clip to show how many Jews were killed during the Holocaust. It is a very powerful video clip," said Bolick. As part of the Character Education Program, Service Learning aims to encourage students to become more in volved in volunteering. "This year's freshmen will have the option of completing a Service Learning Diploma, which requires 250 hours of community service," said Bolick. Near the closing of the year, the Character Education Com mittee plans to present a Char acter Education Award based upon student nominations. "Not only would students have to nominate classmates, but they would also have to give the stories [behind their reasons for the nominations]," said Bolick. She then clarified the overall objective of Char acter Education. "What we're looking for kids to do is to take the traits and carry them to a different level, combining them with service learning. The dropout rate is reduced in children who remain engaged in school," said Bolick. District Superintendent Maurice (Mo) Green hopes that Character Education will mold students into better human beings, which is the sole rea son why he felt inspired to cre ate the program. "As I went around the com munity when I first started here [in Guilford County], I did a listening tour in which I vis ited all parts of Guilford County. I listened to the par ents, teachers, and community leaders. One of the things that I heard continually was the question, 'Do our children un derstand how to support themselves, and do they un derstand their place in the world?' So the district decided to be responsive to those ques tions by creating the Charac ter Development Program," said Green. While the superintendent expects that he will run into some conflicts with parents who believe that the school system has assumed their roles as parents, he is not worried. "I think the vast majority of parents will be in favor of this. Even as I work my way around the community, they are so appreciative, but we will speak with parents who express any concerns one on one," said Green. Elementary, middle, and high schools will all implement the Character Development Program, and lessons will vary depending upon the grade levels. Though the approaches may differ from school to school, the messages will be universal. Don’t be left out in the cold! Purchase your yearbook NOW for $65.00 before the price increases to $70.00 on November 23. Please bring cash or a check made out to Grimsiev Whirliaia to Ms. Rozelman in Room 207.
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