CULTURAL TERRORISM We are hearing a lot about “terrorism” these days.

FIVE STRATEGIES FOR GREAT TEAM DISCUSSIONS Experienced team leaders find they can stimulate discussion 

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TEAM LEADER What does it mean to successfully lead a team?

FOR SUPERINTENDENTS AND PRINCIPALS Communication Success Secrets

INSPIRATIONAL SAYING ON RESPONSIBILITY

YOUNG EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS FACE A BLEAK FUTURE Pakistan's massive earthquake within seconds tragically turned many children into amputees and orphans

GROWING A KIND AND THOUGHTFUL CHILD Today’s children live in a world where they are bombarded with negative messages,

LET’S EAT! Whether it was the dinner bell ringing us in from the field or Mother calling us

THINK ABOUT IT: You only need two tools:

GARBAGE In describing one of the new movies of the day, a critic wrote,

TOMORROW NEVER COMES If I knew it would be the last time, 

MY HUSBAND OF SO MANY YEARS How good he is,

THE PRINCIPLE OF CARING Last minute gifts 

UNIVERSITY ETHICS The destruction and misery caused by...

SPORTS INTEREST FOR COACHES AND ATHELETES Could we organize such a gathering in west texas?

“Our pressing need for today is for less publicity on how to stay young and more on how to grow up!” – Author Unknown

“If live men knew what dead men know; the world would be saved in twenty-four hours!” – Author Unknown

“All of us suffer a few seizures of stupidity once in awhile; I don’t care how intelligent we are.”

“Truth may seem stranger than fiction to people who are strangers to truth.”

[Note the supportive pillars and their definitions all of which are part of responsibility]

Duty – (moral or legal obligations….obligatory tasks, conduct, service or functions arising from one’s position in life.) 

1. Don’t be afraid of pressure. Remember that pressure is what turns a lump of coal into a diamond 
2. Your work is a commentary on your character. 
3. The only preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today. 
4. Admitting mistakes is not a fault….failing to correct them is.
5. Any country boy knows better than to slide into second base when playing baseball in a cow pasture. 
6. If you ask of life, "What have you to offer me?", the answer is, "what do you have to give?" 

Accountability – (to be answerable for personal actions.) 

1. Accept responsibility for the consequences of your choices, not only for what you do but also for what you don’t do. 
2. Some people grow under responsibility….others merely swell. Which are you? 
3. You should do everything you ought to do. 
4. To think too long about doing something often becomes its undoing. 
5. None of us is responsible for ALL the things that happen to us but we are accountable for the way we act when they do happen. 

Self-control – (restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires)

1. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. 
2. The one thing worse than a quitter is the person who is afraid to begin. 
3. Although the tongue weighs very little, few people are able to hold it. 
4. Be cautious. Opportunity does the knocking for temptation, too. 
5. Don’t count on "finding yourself." Your life is not to be found, it is not lost. It is to be created. - Michael Josephson 

NOTE EDUCATORS: Ways to use the above in the classroom: Discussion topics, memorization, poster themes, art competition, essay writing, and 3 minute character speeches.

Projects like these capture the dreams of children, move them to help their peers in the world, and MOVE THEM AWAY FROM THE DRUG SCENE. 

Whether it was the dinner bell ringing us in from the field or Mother calling us into the kitchen…we knew it was time to eat, and we came running, because we were hungry. But we were hungry for more than the food. We were hungry for the talking, the laughing, and the loving that we always found around our table and in our home. That is the way it is with family.

That’s the way it is in this Family, too.

By Rex Boyles

David Smith

Lola Ritchey – 

“We all know why women who are over fifty don’t have babies. They would put them down someplace and forget where they left them!” - 

Finally he said, “What’d he do?”

1. You believe in Santa Claus
   
2. You don’t believe in Santa Claus
   
3. You are Santa Claus
   
4. You look like Santa Claus

CULTURAL TERRORISM 
Editorial

We are hearing a lot about “terrorism” these days. One can hardly turn to any news source but to find it at the top of the headlines. I have often said: “I am not so much concerned about the woodpeckers on the outside as I am the termites on the inside.” I haven’t changed!

It is only natural that we do battle with what is visible and before us. Guns call for guns; bombs for bombs. But what about those enemies that gnaw at our sanity, challenge us inwardly and initiate moral deterioration?

Adults have lived longer than youth [do we need reminding?] which means they have had TIME to judge the moral values around them. But when the same enticements that disrobe us as adults of our ethical courage are placed before our youth [who have not yet lived as long to learn self-assimilation] what is our youth to do? Too, we as adults find it challenging to hold out against these enticements, so, where does this place our children? No one is immune to these moral challenges!

As leaders of youth [yes – both parents and teachers] we must not be afraid to speak up and state that certain things are morally wrong! It is much easier to be silent, to join the popular crowd called “tolerance”, and to refrain from being the one who causes ripples on the ethical lake. If a drunk driver killed one of our own children would we be silent? If we saw a neighbor sell drugs to our son or daughter would we keep silent? If we saw an adult abuse an innocent child would we enter the mode of tolerance? If we saw a sex pervert try to seduce our daughter would we stand by passively? Not likely, I hope! The media does not keep its mouth shut. They push immorality 24/7. 

Remember, when nine-year-olds are permitted to watch R-rated movies clogged with violence and sexual subject matter and listen to garbage content in depraved songs which glorify murder, promiscuity, and disrespect for womanhood; and Bevis and Butthead are invited into living rooms with open arms – these influences actually become our “character teachers”. If this becomes the norm why should we even be surprised that we do not have ethical children with the moral backbone to say “No? These are not part of the important choices in my life that will eventually build the road to my destiny as a responsible person.” Believe me, we have children among us this strong, and I know some of them! But they didn’t get to be this way by coincidence. They were exposed to parents and teachers who were this way by example and conviction.

Yes, our children are being terrorized by the dramatic degeneration of the American culture and are being devastatingly affected. 

There is a battle going on for the mind of your child! It is more powerful than Waterloo, Vietnam, Dunkirk or the Civil War. Who is winning?
 

CHARACTER COUNTS! is like natural health food to children. They thrive on it!

Experienced team leaders find they can stimulate discussion in team meetings by asking general questions. And they learn they can use pointed questions to cut off discussion and encourage the group to move on to other issues.

Here are some other questioning strategies that can foster productive discussions: CLICK TO CONTINUE

Team Management Briefings
1101 King St., Suite 110
Alexandria, VA 22314
Vol. 7, No. 4 April 1999
 

What does it mean to successfully lead a team? It means taking responsibility for guiding and motivating a group of people who probably have very different ideas, abilities and attitudes.

Every team leader faces unique challenges and problems. But, while no perfect formula for effective leadership exists, most successful teams have leaders who:

Clear communication is the cornerstone of good teamwork. So a poor communicator is a poor team leader. Ensure your message is heard and understood. Follow these steps:

• Organize before you communicate. If you’re instructing a team member, run through the steps in your mind before you begin speaking. If you’re explaining something complicated, jot down notes. Remember: A lack of preparation will result in repetition and backtracking, making your message less effective.

• Monitor your tone. A leader must often give corrective feedback. When speaking to a team member, be sensitive to the effect your words can have. Although you may feel you’re simply pointing out a problem, you may be crushing morale and encouraging resentment. Suggestion: Plan exactly what you want to say when you criticize. Offhanded comments can be easily misunderstood. Try this test before giving a team member any negative feedback: Ask yourself “How would I feel if my boss (or a former boss) said the same thing to me?” 

• Send clear messages. Don’t let distracting behavior or body language dilute or confuse your message. That’s especially important when you’re listening to team members. If you’re glancing around your office or fiddling with a pen while they’re talking, they’ll know they don’t have your full attention.

• Check to make sure people understand. Take the responsibility for clear communication. Don’t say “Did you understand me?” Better: “Do you need me to run through the procedure again? I was unsure the first time someone explained it to me.”

Communication Briefings
1101 King St., Suite 110
Alexandria, VA 22314

Communication Success Secrets

Of all the keys to success, Kevin Hogan says the greatest is knowing how to talk so people will listen and to listen so people will talk. And in his latest book, Talk Your Way to the Top, he offers this talking-listening advice:

Expect to feel bad when you deliver negative messages

• Answer these “before” questions about each communication transaction: CLICK TO CONTINUE

Source: Talk Your Way to the Top: Communications Secrets to Change Your Life, by Kevin Hogan, Pelican Publishing Co., 1000 Burmaster St., Gretna, LA 70053-$21.
Communications Briefings

Today’s children live in a world where they are bombarded with negative messages, many of which devalue respect for others. To help children grow into responsible, caring adults, parents must be intentional in teaching children how to treat others with compassion, respect and thoughtfulness. You can do this on a daily basis by:

• being a good role model in how you treat your spouse and other family members
• practicing courtesy and respect to all with whom you interact, i.e., store clerk, repairman, strangers
• demonstrating respect for authority figures
• involving children in acts of kindness (fixing dinner for a shut-in, decorating a birthday cake for a sibling, making or shopping for a grandparent’s gift)
• coaching children in social skills
• intervening at signs of physical or verbal abuse among siblings and peers
• teaching children to be gentle with younger children and animals
• reading stories together and talking about the feeling of the characters
• using media and daily situations as springboards for communication and learning
• avoiding overindulgence
• setting firm, loving limits
• establishing expectations and consequences for children’s behaviors
• explaining you own values actions and choices
• providing positive feedback for children’s act of kindness and respect

Parenting Quick Tips - Practical Parent Education.
By Permission

MY HUSBAND OF SO MANY YEARS
How good he is,
My husband of so many years;
Tears come to my eyes
When I see how creepy his neck has become,
How bravely he tries to straighten up.
Once his jaw was hard and he stood tall
With no effort;
It is as if his body has been sabotaged
One dark night by some unseen enemy.
I know he feels that way.
Yet, when I look at him today,
I feel far more tender toward him
Than ever I did when he was young and strong
And seemingly invulnerable.
O my dear old friend-lover,
Time-ravaged, fellow-traveler,
Camouflaged boy,
Can it help you to know,
Can it help you to hear,
That not only as you were but as you are
You are to me
Inexpressibly dear

Elise Maclay-

LAST MINUTE GIFTS
That money can’t buy

Be kind
Keep a secret 
Share a dream
Return a smile
Keep a promise
Listen to a child
Listen to an adult
Send her favorite flower
Let someone have the last word
Laugh at his favorite story- again
Let someone in line, in front of you
Say something nice to someone you like
Say something nice to one you don’t like

Lola Ritchey-
 

Jon C. Dalton
Editor – The Journal of College and Character –September 05

FROM THE EDITORS 

The destruction and misery caused by Hurricane Katrina changed not only the physical environment of the Gulf Coast but quite likely the social and political landscape of America for many months and years to come. The long suffering of so many poor and helpless victims captured day after excruciating day on national television prompted a moral outrage that will not soon be forgotten. The disaster revealed the deep division of wealth and poverty that still exists along the fault line of race in our society. 

In our society colleges and universities help to create the knowledge and expertise to solve complex human problems. Throughout their history, institutions of higher learning have also been deeply invested in the development of character and conscience so that knowledge will be used for worthy and useful ends. In great calamities such as Hurricane Katrina, higher education has a dual challenge: (1) to help create the expertise and leadership to manage such traumas and (2) to cultivate moral sensitivity so that action is guided by compassion and justice.

While they do many things today to encourage moral and civic responsibility, colleges and universities do far too little [Emphasis NC] to challenge the privatism and self-interested values of popular culture. Helping students reflect on and question materialism and self-interested values seems strangely out of place in much of higher education today. In this introspective time, it is especially important to reconsider the critical role that colleges and universities must play in promoting a just and compassionate society.

JOHN WOODEN DOING WHAT HE LIKES BEST

On Wednesday, August 31, 2005 at the Wooden Center at UCLA in Los Angeles (from 8:30 am – 11:00 am) more than 1,000 high school coaches – all the coaches in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) -- assembled to hear Coach John Wooden launch the Pursuing Victory With Honor (PVWH) program recently mandated for all Los Angeles Schools. 

“This will be the largest and most ambitious full scale adoption of this national sportsmanship and ethics program developed and administered by the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition and the Josephson Institute of Ethics.” It was said, and it was! Coaches spent the afternoon receiving special training in Pursuing Victory with Honor at regional centers throughout the city. 

The training was conducted by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the statewide agency responsible for interscholastic sports. CIF has adopted the PVWH as the core theme of all sports programs in California (see www.cifccs.org/sportsmanship/pursuingintro.htm). The state of Arizona also has a statewide full-scale PVWH program (see www.aiaonline.org/pvh/). 

The concluding part of the program – 10:00 am – was an interview with the legendary basketball coach John Wooden and a Q&A session focusing on “The Heart of Pursuing Victory with Honor.” 

Coach Wooden was an influential participant a 1999 summit meeting of sports leaders in Scottsdale Arizona (see http://www.charactercounts.org/sports/accord.htm) that formulated the principles of sportsmanship and ethics that underlie the Pursuing Victory With Honor program and he developed the “teacher-coach” central to the program. 

In addition to coach Wooden’s presentation there were presentations by former Colorado governor Roy Roemer, Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Marie Ishida, Executive Director of the California Interscholastic Federation, Barbara Fiege the Director of interscholastic Athletics for Los Angeles Unified school District, and Michael Josephson, founder of CHARACTER COUNTS! and the Pursuing Victory with Honor initiative.

For further information contact James Jankowski or Shelley Wax at 310-846-4800

COACHES – COULD WE ORGANIZE SUCH A GATHERING IN WEST TEXAS USING OUTSTANDING COACHES AMONG US? Contact us: 806–790-7222