Therefore, when it comes to character building and recognition I too, struggle with how do we best accomplish this? When do we miss the mark? And, what conversation do we cause and help to develop within the “heads” of those children we work with? When a child thinks, “I care” “I like and appreciate what Sally does” “That’s nice what Bobby does for Jimmy.”

I think it’s important to catch the acts when they happen. To give “thank you” and “praise” for the gift of help, kindness, consideration, understanding… we also need to teach those lessons early on. This is key to what I, as a Life Managment Skills educator am about- we have to establish these thougths early on, for positive EQ/Emotional Intelligence is hardwired into the very architecture of the brain – meaning, kids will follow this course of recognition, acceptance, appreciation, understanding if they begin that early.

One thing that might be of great value is a simple “thank you” box in the classroom – TEACH THE CHILDREN TO MAKE THE RECOGNITION AND BEGIN THE PRACTICE OF SAYING “GREAT JOB!” “THANK YOU!” AS WELL AS THE TEACHERS… a box, with a slot that notes can be slipped into… simple note cards available that the children can write a “thank you” to someone who has shwon them kindness. The notes (can be checked by the teacher so no negatives are written or received) can be passed out to the students at week’s end. To actually receive a thank you, from a peer, that acknowledges that kindness was done/shown is powerful.

That’s just one example of ways in which we can establish charcter and recognition. It is human nature to wish to feel good about who we are… I would rather error on the side of recognition then to error on the side of doubt.

When it comes to recognizing good character first it’s important to set the stage that any process is only highlighting examples of how someone (not just the students) can show good character and how that can make a difference for themselves and other. But getting all adults on board with how to establish that atmosphere is difficult.

One option that expands a school’s desire to have weekly, monthly or annual award ceremonies is to invite everyone to submit character recognition notes when they “catch” someone doing the right thing. We had a special bulletin board devoted to that strategy. Notes were read over Morning Announcements and then posted on the board. That way parents, bus drivers, other children and adults in general all have the opportunity to recognize postive acts and at the same time broaden the “awards” from being “controlled” by a specific ceremony.

What we do instead is catch kids making good choices right when it happens in the classroom and use that as a teachable moment. When Jimmy helps Suzy pick up her crayons, for example, the teacher can say, “Jimmy, that shows great caring; thank you for being such a bucket filler.” There may be a caring poster where Jimmy can go sign his name. Or he may get to put a puff in the class bucket. Or add a marble to the class jar. Or he may just get a good feeling inside. We encourage our school community to affirm one another for their good character choices. We’ve found that sincere compliments can go a long way with our little learners as well as with our faculty.

Because I, as a parent, would LOVE to hear good things from my child’s school, I’ve proposed with my Administrative Team something new this next school year. When we catch someone doing something good (even when they don’t know anybody’s looking), we plan to make a character call to their parent(s)/guardian(s) right then and there to share good news. We think that will be meaningful and make a nice school-to-home connection. No awards ceremony, no certificate needed.