IN THIS ISSUE

Program Development: CC! on Film
Faces of CC!: Mark Britzman
Character in the Curriculum: Preparing for Independence Day Fun
Free Resources for Teachers:
• Summer Safety Kit
• Winners Don’t Use Drugs! – Free Comic/Activity Book
Commentary by Michael Josephson: Thanks for Telling Me the Truth, Dad

ON THE SIDE

Announcements
CC! in the News:
• Essays – The Ethics of Getting Them
• Essays – The Ethics of Using Them
Resource of the Month: Get Families Involved in CC! With the Family Wisdom Binder – Now 30% Off
Did You Know? A Nursery Rhyme Once Recruited Pirates
Website Poll: Should High-Profile Felons Be Made Examples Of?
2007 Conference Dates and Training Programs

Program Development

“It made me change on the inside as well as the outside.” -- Angel

CC! on Film

When video producer Stacey Margetts and her crew showed up to film the effectiveness of CHARACTER COUNTS! at three Los Angeles schools, they thought it would be just another gig.

Until they met the kids.

One little girl walked up to them and pointed to her heart. “Character is what’s in here.”

“It’s helped me with my grades, my friendships, and my everyday life,” said another.

“It gives us standards to live up to and helps you represent yourself,” voiced a third.

And then a second grader asked Margetts for her autograph.

By the end of the first day, one of her photographers took her aside and said “This is the best day of work I’ve ever had.” By the third day, the crew was rethinking their own lives.

“It made us think about some of the projects we work on,” Margetts said afterward. “We usually work with adults and celebrities on television shows who are many times less than gracious. It made us think: Maybe we should start doing things like this to help people rather than exploit them.”

A generous grant allowed Josephson Institute to commission Margetts to document how schools have implemented the CC! framework. The finished video will be distributed to schools nationwide that may want to implement the program. The local schools chosen were Rio Hondo Elementary School in Downey, Lennox Middle School in Lennox, and St. Genevieve High School in Panorama City.

“It makes you smarter. You notice how your friends are different.” -- Charlie

Seeing a more positive school climate is not uncommon in schools that have implemented CC!. And noticing “nicer” friends is more significant than it may appear. Studies have shown that sociability and leadership increases in adolescents when student friendships are high quality.

If kids are “nicer,” the whole school experience is better, more relaxed, and more supportive. Margetts said she witnessed this firsthand. “CC! makes it cool to be caring rather than cool to be bad.”

“It makes me think about my decisions – how they can change my life. I had a scholarship to another school, but I made a choice to stay here and represent us – to show it’s not a bad place to be.”
-- Angelica

“It makes you feel proud to do the right thing.”
-- Brian

At Rio Hondo, CC! messages are everywhere – along walkway slogans, on “street” signs, across murals, around the playground.

Six Pillar mural at Rio Hondo Elementary

At Lennox, kids greet adults with such respect that the school has been complimented many times about the interactions. Principal Brian Johnson says part of that is due to the common language of the Six Pillars, which makes it easier for teachers and staff to converse with kids so it’s not always punitive. “CC! gives kids concepts of why they’re doing what they’re doing,” he said. “It makes them look inward. It’s taken us from a good campus to a great one.”

“The six pillars are the building blocks of life. It’s what will define me as a person in the future.”
-- Brittany

Gangs used to permeate St. Genevieve High School. No longer. Fairness and respect now rule the campus. Vice Principal John Van Grinsven said CC! is not about indoctrination, though. “I’m not interested in them memorizing the pillars. I want them to live them.”

And they do. The CC! framework enables children to discern the difference between can and should. Margetts and her video crew filmed one student after another voicing the same mantra: “We make better choices at our school…Everybody’s happy here…A huge family…My friend used to be a tough guy, now he doesn’t do that any more…”

The CC! video is still in production, but a preview showed that developing character is not just about having posters on the walls; it’s about making it an intrinsic part of the community.

“If everyone followed the six pillars, it would be a better school.” -- Stacey

Faces of CC!

Dr. Mark Britzman

Mark Britzman

CC! faculty member and counselor Dr. Mark Britzman led an educational group for adults for two hours every morning during Family Church camp. The theme was “taking hold of the good life.” Britzman used his experience with CC! to weave in character themes and teachable moments and to encourage participants to make at least one positive change in their lives. Little did he know he would facilitate a life-saving change in one of the participants.

“Camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota is a wonderful experience,” said Britzman. “It is a chance to slow down and be reminded about what really counts, to have deeper and more meaningful conversations without the interruptions of cell phones and e-mails, and to be surrounded by a caring community of individuals.”

After the second session one of the group approached Britzman and wanted to talk. The man we’ll call Jerry had much to say. He was close to becoming divorced, had lost his job, and had been having suicidal thoughts. He was cynical about life and felt others, including his family, were to blame for his desperate situation.

His despondency seemed to stem from a lack of motivation. Everyone he knew seemed to have betrayed him. Britzman spoke to him about responsibility. “Everyone is at least 100% responsible for 50% of every relationship,” he told him. This seemed to hit home. Jerry knew he could do better. He promised he would make a plan and try to take more responsibility for events in his life. He also gave a commitment not to harm himself.

As they left camp that week, Britzman asked Jerry to contact him to let him know how he was doing. The idyllic setting of the camp was healing in itself, but life outside camp can be tough.

There was no contact from Jerry. “I wondered whether he had managed. Finally he got in touch with me,” Britzman recalls.“Jerry has taken responsibility for his own life. He sought counseling, found a new and better job, and renewed his commitment to being a better husband and father.”

Jerry’s story illustrates the effectiveness of taking responsibility for our lives and that, together with some encouragement and an action plan, we all have the wherewithal to transform our lives.

“Character does count,” Britzman reminds us.“ Jerry’s was strengthened by one sentence that jump-started him into living a life that mattered: Everyone is at least 100% responsible for 50% of every relationship.”

Summer Safety Kits

Madeline McCann, 4, was abducted from a Portuguese resort over a month ago and her parents are still seeking information on her whereabouts. It is never too early to talk to your child about abduction.

We recommend the Polly Klaas Foundation’s free child safety kit: “How to Teach Abduction Prevention Without Scaring Your Child (or Yourself).” It includes 24 pages of guidance to parents, plus two fingerprint and DNA documents to record your child’s personal information.

The Polly Klaas Foundation was set up in memory of 12-year-old Polly Klaas who was abducted from her home in Petaluma, California, in 1993. Her body was found two months later.

For information on how to obtain the kit and how you can help families of abducted children, go to the Polly Klaas website.

For more information on the Madeline McCann case, click here.

Winners Don’t Use Drugs! – Free Comic/Activity Book

The job of McGruff, the crime dog, is to make sure kids learn how to be safe. This comic/activity book is designed to help kids and parents understand the dangers of drugs.

The stories and activities are drawn from real-life kids’ experiences about why they try drugs. Emphasis is on prevention. For a free copy, visit the U.S Department of Health and Human Services website here.

Commentary by Michael Jospehson

Adapted from Michael Josephson's Gabriel Award-winning radio commentaries, airing Monday through Friday across the nation.

Thanks for Telling Me the Truth, Dad

Jenny was 14 and miserable. Her freckles and braces were bad enough but now her face was breaking out. Her dad saw her looking in the mirror and sobbing. She was in such pain. He stayed up all night writing a note he slipped under her door.

“I wish I could tell you everything is all right,” he wrote, “but I know it isn’t because you're genuinely unhappy. I wish I could tell you that looks don’t matter and that everyone will see the incredibly beautiful person inside, but at your age it does matter.

“The truth is, sometimes life stinks. In a way, adolescence is like being in a cocoon. Everything is in the process of changing including your face, body, and mind. But don’t confuse the cocoon, which is a temporary shell, with the real you – what you are and what you will be. And trust nature. Inside, good stuff is happening.

“No, I can’t tell you everything is great. But I can tell you there are lots of great things in your life and things will get better. Your braces will come off, your skin will clear up, and your body will fill out. Sooner than you think you will shed your cocoon and become a magnificent butterfly soaring in the sunshine. Then I’ll be the one with problems.

So, sweetheart, have courage, you’ll get through this. In the meantime have fun, learn, and remember: Today’s disappointments prepare you for tomorrow’s triumphs.”

In the morning, Jenny had the note in her hand and a twinkle in her eye. “Thanks for telling me the truth, Dad. I can handle it.”

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

Commentary transcripts and audio files are archived here.

Subscribe to the free weekly commentary newsletter here.

National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week Second Installment Resources Now Available!

Although National CC! Week isn’t until October 21 – 27, we have posted the second installment of free resources on our website to help you prepare and plan your activities. Click here to register and gain access to a variety of downloadable resources.

Read more and download resources

View Chronicle archive

Do you have stories to share about character or character education? Please send them to ccnews@jiethics.org. E-mail your photos, too. We can use almost any format.

House Cleaning Clearance Sale: 30% Off

It’s the end of the school year and we’re cleaning house to make room for next year’s hot items. Stock up and save 30% on a variety of character-education support materials.

Read more and purchase online.

August Conference a Must for Educators And Character-Development Practitioners

Do you want to start a character-education program? Have you done so and want to expand? Are you looking for best practices from the nation’s foremost ethics educators?

Then consider attending the National CC! Conference on August 1-3, 2007, in Anaheim, California. Whatever stage you’re at, this conference was created for educators like you. Connect with experienced program developers from some of the most successful programs in the country. Gather resources, contacts, support, and materials. Get motivated so you can make character count in your school and community.

The three-day gathering will feature:

• Michael Josephson and several other featured speakers
• Breakout sessions (last year’s conference presented 24 panels and workshops on everything from model programs to at-risk youth to sustainability to state standards)
• Networking opportunities with program developers from primary and secondary schools, athletics, youth-development, and community projects
• Morning and lunchtime general sessions
• Inspiring student presentations
• CHARACTER COUNTS! booth with instructional products and resources

The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort just blocks away from Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and the new California Adventure (free hotel shuttles to amusement parks).

For more information, call 559-733-6172 or click here to register.

Essays – The Ethics of Getting Them

Martin Luther King Jr. plagiarized parts of his doctoral thesis. Helen Keller pilfered an early short story, “The Frost King.” Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, has been accused of stealing twice. The list goes on. Plagiarism is as old as the printing press, which allowed text to be distributed wider, easier, and cheaper.

The advent of the Internet has reinvented the practice. Any academic institution that considers itself free of piracy is probably either turning a blind eye or fooling itself (and should check the April edition for a free anti-plagiarism tool).

Not only is it possible to copy and paste online text into essays, but it is incredibly easy to buy entire essays and pass them off as one’s own. Google says it will address the issue by banning companies that sell essays online. Google also blacklists companies that sell or promote weapons, tobacco, cigarettes, or gambling.

That’s not to say those items are not available elsewhere online, but rather that Google is trying to live up to its unofficial motto: Do No Evil. At the time of writing, the inclusion of companies selling essays online had not yet been included in Google's AdWords Content Policy document, but a Google spokesman confirmed the sale of essays in the AdWords service had been disallowed and updates to the Content Policy would be made in the near future.

Essays – The Ethics of Using Them

Michael Josephson recently appeared on The Early Show on CBS to discuss the ethics of college applications. Even with good grades and test scores, college applicants are feeling pressure from the essays they are required to write. They feel they need to stand out from the thousands of other applicants.

Mr. Josephson confirmed what admissions offices have already acknowledged. “When people want something badly enough and are under pressure, a certain category of people will lie.” College admissions offices understand that increased levels of competition can lead applicants to make bad ethical decisions.

Peter Johnson at the MBA program at UC Berkley said about 10 percent of applicants last year would have been offered a place but were rejected due to falsified applications. A very real reminder that honesty is the best policy.

Postscript
On June 6, UNESCO’s International Institute for Education Planning released Corrupt Schools, Corrupt Universities – What Can Be Done?

This publication is the result of six years of international research and addresses the problems of corruption in education. Problems ranging from embezzlement of funds tagged for education to academic fraud are analyzed, and effective strategies are outlined. Advocacy of ethics in education is highlighted in this report.

To download the report, visit UNESCO.

All proceeds benefit CHARACTER COUNTS! and the nonprofit Josephson Institute.

Get Families Involved in CC! Family Wisdom binder Is Now 30% Off

Maintaining the momentum of the CHARACTER COUNTS! framework can be a tough task over the summer holidays. The Family Wisdom binder for middle school contains many reproducible materials on how to teach the Six Pillars of Character at home. It includes:

• More than 80 ready-to-copy newsletters that feature stimulating character related home activities to help parents connect with what students are learning in school.
• Media literacy activities to help families evaluate the character messages on television, in movies, and on the Internet.
• Suggestions on how families can get involved in serving their community.
• Refrigerator displays for families to remind them to show good character.
  

A Nursery Rhyme Once Recruited Pirates

On November 22, 1718, the infamous pirate Blackbeard fought his last battle near Ocracoke inlet, N.C. Pirate tales are currently undergoing a revival (slightly more profitable than Blackbeard’s own career) in the Pirates of the Caribbean series of movies starring Johnny Depp.

Pirates have been trolling the seas for as long as there have been sailors and have even become part of nursery tradition in the rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence” – originally a coded message used to recruit crew members for pirate ships.

“Sing a song of sixpence / A pocket full of rye” refers to the payment of sixpence promised to new recruits to Blackbeard’s crew. Rye (whisky) was a canteen full of liquor. Most pirates did not receive payment but a share of the spoils. So sixpence was not a sum to be scoffed at. The whisky, however, would most certainly be scoffed, as alcohol was an integral part of pirate life.

Luring ships into danger was a common pirate tactic. Feigning distress, the ship would lure other vessels close enough for the pirates to board them and carry out their dastardly deeds. Hence the lines: “Four and twenty blackbirds / Baked in a pie / When the pie was open / The birds began to sing.” Blackbirds referred to Blackbeard’s crew. The singing was the noise of the ensuing battle.

“Wasn’t that a tasty dish / To set before a king.” Blackbeard was considered the king of pirates and the dish was the booty from plundered ships.

The swashbuckling action, impressive visual effects, gorgeous costumes and leading men and ladies all helped the Pirates of the Caribbean movies break attendance records, but the reality is much less glamorous, and much more tragic.

Modern-day pirates are not so much concerned with sunken treasure, pockets of rye, or sixpences. Ships delivering much-needed food and other supplies to war-torn and famine-stricken countries along the coast of Africa have become the new bounty. The high seas in this region are among the most dangerous in the world.

Should high-profile felons be made examples of?

a) Yes.
b) No.

Respond and see the results.

Last Month's Results: Should NBC have aired the materials received from the Virginia Tech gunman? No 64% Yes 36%

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