True Grit

not the movie... but Angela Duckworth did mention it in this talk. I'm really excited about how often she is popping up in my study.
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/grit/angela-duckworth-grit.html
I also found her Grit Test- 12 questions - perhaps I can use some of these for the PGP questions.
http://theyoungmarketer.com/2013/01/12/determine-your-grit-score/

Here is a link to Duckworth talking about Dweck's growth mindset as one strategy for helping make kids "grittier"
http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html

And finally, the most up-to-date article I have found so far from Duckworth since most of her initial work on grit is from 2007-09. This is from April 2013.
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2013/april-13/true-grit.html

Teaching Character in Schools

I'm thinking right now about the goal setting and planning pieces set up in Success, but I came across this article related to the book I'm reading by Paul Tough. Here's the link.
http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Departments/Book-Reviews/2013/Winter/Content-of-their-character.aspx
 Also, the first page of the KIPP school webpage lists the 7 character strengths incorporated into the school. These came from the work that Peterson did. Duckworth worked on an evaluative tool for teachers to use.http://www.kipp.org/our-approach/character


In addition to a review of Tough's book, another book called Character Compass*, is reviewed in this article. I found the author, Scott Seider, giving a talk on the book online and here's my takeaway from that-

Seider set out to see whether good character can be taught.

He examined three schools but focused in his talk on two of the three.  He said that Roxbury Prep and Boston Prep both had character education in their mission statements. Roxbury’s focus was more on performance character and Boston Prep’s was more on moral character. 

He found that students in all the schools show an increase in the key measures- integrity, perseverance, connectivity, empathy. Seider indicated that success is directly related to how students identify themselves. For example, if they say “I’m the kind of person who…” doesn’t cheat, then they don’t cheat. He calls this schema building, the way a volleyball player sets the ball – a person “sets” who they are over time. He indicates part of the success may be because the schools he studied have character education that is part of the thread of "who" the school is, rather than having character education handed to them from an outside source (like the government). Within the classes at all of the schools, there are ethics classes where students are actively engaged in discussing daily school issues- cheating, bullying, responsibility using practical examples and a common language.

There's a good bit here that sounds like the MKA ethics classes so I feel really confident about what our school is doing to teach character. 

*How Powerful School Culture can Point Students Toward Success
---Here's my final thought for now- when I look at the subtitle of Seider's book, I wonder if we have the school "culture" that's needed- in other words, how do other things that make up our culture clash with the character education going on in Ethics classes?

The importance of Choice:

A common theme that I've encountered in my reading so far revolves around the importance of choice and the role that choice has in success and happiness. In Dan Pink's book, Drive, he talks about the powerful role autonomy plays in motivating workers. (remember the FedEx days, when employees get to work on whatever they want?) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdzHgN7_Hs8) In the Ethics Institute, we heard about three intrinsic needs that all people have- they are: relatedness, competence, and autonomy. This is the idea that people need to choose and organize their own experiences. In Success (chapter 5), Halvorsen states that it is important to create a feeling of choice even if it is unrelated to the learning. For example, students can choose their own seat, what color paper they want to use, and the order they may want to complete assignments or tasks. She cites a very powerful example from the study at the nursing home (p.118) in which the mortality rate of patients was cut in half just by incorporating simple "choices" into the lives of the elderly patients. They were allowed to choose their activities and were given the responsibility of taking care of a plant. What do I take away from this chapter and example? Choice creates meaning in our lives. It is critical, therefore, that as teachers, we create as much autonomy and choice as possible in our classrooms to leverage motivation, success, and meaning.

Small Bits of Happiness

I've signed up for Gretchen Rubin's "Moments of Happiness" daily email and will be collecting my favorite quotes here. I'm thinking of ways I can use these in school. Perhaps I could share one each time my advisor group meets. If I ask the girls to keep journals, maybe they will collect their favorites.
I think this is a really tough one and an idea that would create a lot of discussion.
"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness."
- Bertrand Russell

Gretchen also seems to have a picture to go with her quotes. I took this one recently so I've decided to include it here. I'm wondering if a collection of photos could be a jumping off point for discussion? As suggested in the Ethics workshop, keeping a "happiness portfolio" is a reflective activity for everyone.