TRUSTWORTHINESS

Creating the Climate

1. Demonstrate a spirit of loyalty to the school as an institution. Practice honesty with your administrators, faculty, the office staff, counselors, parents, and, those you teach daily.
2. Begin your day using the ethical atmosphere of trustworthiness in all you say, painting thoughts with words like loyalty and reliability.
3. Be honest in your conduct and words speaking only that which you intend to do, or promises you know are within your ability to keep. If circumstances change which are beyond your control extend to the staff, students, parents, and to all involved an ethical explanation. Refrain from excuses and blaming others. Apology is the fruit of earnestness in the trust value.
4. Be consistently honest in your words and actions. Speak only truth that is in line with honesty. In assisting people who will make decisions be open and honest. Don’t deceive with "word playing". Be up front and give truthful information that make for the wisest decisions. Put who you claim to be into the words you speak.
5. Walk the ethical walk. Talk the ethical talk. Be behaviorally in line with your ethical walk and talk .
6. Establish in your classroom the rules and school policies, which demonstrate honesty, promise-keeping, loyalty, and integrity.
7. Display character visibly in your teaching area. Have definitions and illustrations of trustworthiness, honesty, promise-keeping, loyalty, and integrity as reminders of classroom ethical behavior.
8. Compliment your students, not for specific things they do, but for their character. Point out that the things they do are an extension of inner qualities.
9. Have audible praise for students you see demonstrating character in the classroom. When possible give them tangible incentives.
10. Help students stay sensitive to character qualities by inviting them to recite, describe, or demonstrate trustworthy behavior in business, church, or community activities. Naming specific people should be encouraged.
11. Bring a "newsworthy" person to the classroom who can be questioned by the students as to why they choose to behave in a trustworthy manner.

Infusing the Character Qualities

1. Choose trustworthiness as the word of the month.
2. Write it on a large cutout shoe imprint and tape it to the floor at the classroom entrance. Have students step on it as a means of entrance. Make no exceptions.
3. In teaching history, science, literature, language, math or any discipline, discuss the ethical behavior connected with ethical words fitting that discipline. i.e. Does the math of a bank teller have anything to do with ethics? Do scientists have an ethical obligation to use their findings for the benefit of mankind? Are all people mentioned in history ethical? Are all people mentioned as characters in dramatic literature people who have integrity?
4. Build a "tower of trust" out of blocks in art class and demonstrate the importance for all character blocks to be in the edifice.
5. Choose a story and read it to the class. Have the class rewrite the story substituting trustworthiness for all unethical behaviors. Stress that outcome is generally the direct result of behavior.
6. Use trustworthiness, trust, integrity, honesty, loyalty, candor, sincerity, promise-keeping, as vocabulary words. Add other words such as lying, deception, betrayal, etc. Use the words in spelling bees or have the class match the definitions. Start a story and each person has to take up a word and weave it into the character’s behavior in the story demonstrating they understand its definition.
7. Have the class write and perform a skit or puppet show depicting a character who is trustworthy.
8. Develop essays, poems, raps, and songs with the behavior of trustworthiness present.
9. Ask the children to recite something trustworthy as it relates to their family life or a family on their street.
   

Contributed by Peggy Adkins