Each month we define and discuss a word of character development with all of our students. This month the word is Open-mindedness. It will be defined this way.
Young students: Open-mindedness means: “I like to learn about new things, new people, and new ideas!”
Older students: Open-mindedness means: Being open to new ideas and avoiding narrowness of thought.
Each Month we define and discuss a word of character development with all of our students. This month the word is Courtesy. It will be defined this way.
Young students: Courtesy means “I am thoughtful, polite and kind to others.”
Older students: Courtesy means showing respect kindness and consideration for others.
The development of respect in our children is affected by a number of different factors. As usual there is never just one thing that is going to be the difference maker. Generally there will be a number of influences that affect this part of character development in our students.
- Seeing respectful behavior modeled.
- The trust factor (kids trust of adults)
- Role models our children have
- Language that our kids are exposed to
- Effect of the media and what is accepted as ‘normal’
- How are children are treated
If you would like to read some thoughts about influences on respect, Click here.
The good news is respect can be taught to our children. Respect is really based on that golden rule of treating others the way we want to be treated. When they learn that everyone has the right to be treated in a positive and caring way, they are also learning that they can and should respect themselves too.
How can we help our children understand the meaning, value and behaviors of respect? Their success in every arena of their life is dependent on making respect a part of their lives without our prompting and reinforcement. During the rest of this month I will post some ways that we can teach respect to our children and students.
