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A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O CHARACTER

Introduction

Without your even knowing it, your experiences in lifehave built your character. Your parents, family, friends,teachers, and communities all have had a stake inbuilding you up to be the person you are today. Everyinteraction that you have with another human being orliving creature shows what type of person you are. Howare you respectful? How are you responsible? How areyou caring? How are you fair? How are you a good citizen? Believe it or not—how you answer those questions says a lot about the type of person that youare and are becoming.

People of character choose to make good choices andare firm in their words and actions. They have a firmfoundation behind them so that they can make choicesthat impact the world around them. People of charactertake the lead and succeed. They have figured out whatit takes to be a good person today so that they can continue to make a difference tomorrow.

No one said it would be easy, though. Being a personof character is difficult. You have to figure out what isright in a world that is full of wrongs and stick to it,even when someone close to you might try to pressureyou into another direction. Every single day is a challenge. Every day there are opportunities to makemistakes, pick up the pieces, and make better decisionstomorrow.Sam

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You communicate with others every day through your words, actions, facial expressions, but most of all,through your character. How you choose to communicateis a direct reflection of your character. Let’s face it -sometimes our communication is great, but other times,it just stinks.

Communicating as a High School Student• Instant Messaging Online• Cell Phones – Texting, Talking & Emailing –Including Photos

• Social Networking Sites (My Space, Facebook)• Blogging• Face-to-Face Talking

Instructions: Write a statement explaining how you would communicate in each of these situations. Include words andwhat kind of body language you may be conveying.

Greeting your best friendin person at the mall.

You need to text a friend to see if he/she is coming to the movie at 7 pm.

Calling a friend from school to get help with a math problem.

Asking your teacher a questionabout a science assignment.

You think your parents are being unfair about not allowing you to go to a basketball game with a friend.

A blog entry on your personal webpage of your day at school.

A post on a social networking siteabout your day.

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C H A R A C T E R I N NETWORKING

People of Character… in NetworkingA person of character must realize that every interaction

he/she has with another living thing communicates a message -good or bad. That’s because communication has somethingcalled tone. Tone is how something is perceived or interpretedbased on how the communication took place. The way a message is received depends upon the tone that is shared duringthe communication.

Types of Communication1) One-on-one or face-to-face

• Easy to read body language and facial expressions• Can look someone in the eye when speaking to them inperson

• Feel the “tone” of what they are trying to say to you• Conversation is private in nature, can’t be “forwarded” to others

2) Talking on the phone• You cannot read facial expressions or see body language• You can still hear the “tone” of their voice (annoyed,happy)

• Tend to use a lot of words to describe how you are feeling3) Text messaging, Instant Messaging & Email

• Can’t see their face or hear their voice to know their “tone”• Tend to use a lot of abbreviations to save time – sometimesthat means people will take your message the wrong way

• Easier to misinterpret – you were trying to be funny, butyour friend thought you were being mean and their feelings got hurt

• Typed words don’t have any emotional sounds to them, sowe use emoticons like :), LOL, or haha, for example, tohelp the other person know what we mean

• It is harder to take back something once you type it, and also easy for someone to forward your private conversation to others

What are some of the emoticons and abbreviations for phrases thatyou tend to use in text on a daily basis? Why do you use them?

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Differences in Communicating with Friends, Parents and TeachersFriends – you use slang and jargon and tend to abbreviatewhen texting or emailing your friendsParents, Grandparents & Teachers – you probably use lessslang or jargon because parents and teachers don’t alwaysappreciate the use of slang. For written communication withthis group, you’ll want to use proper grammar and punctuation.

How do you maintain integrity in the different types of communication and not harm your character?

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Safety Online and with Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites are very popular. The space that youcreate on the site is your identity and personality, yet you needto keep your identity as safe as possible. Set your settings toonly let “friends” view your page and not “friends of friends.”By doing this, you have the control over who is viewing yourinformation and photos. Post only things you would be OKwith your parents seeing. Every time you post something youare leaving a “digital footprint” of yourself. Your integrity is inwhat you post— photos, status updates, and messages to yourfriends. Once it is online, you can’t take it back

List a time when you or a friend of yours posted something theywished they could take back. How did you(or they) feel after theyposted it? What could you(or what could they) have done differently?

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D E A L I N G W I T H RELATIONSHIPS

People of Character… in Relationships

We live our lives in circles. We have our immediate family, our extended family, our school friends, our classmates, ourneighborhood friends, our acquaintances, etc. Sometimes ourcircles overlap, but other times they don’t. The relationshipsthat we build within our “circles” vary based on the experiencesthat we share with the people in each circle.

But what builds a relationship? A healthy and strong relationship is built on trust. Trust isn’t something that justhappens. It has to be nurtured and worked on every day.

Think of your best or closest friend. Describe him or her.

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Were you best friends the first day you met? Probably not.You more than likely knew that you enjoyed being around theperson, but you weren’t about to spill your deepest, darkestsecrets with that person on the first day of your friendship. Youhad to get to know him/her, share some experiences together,and build a trust before sharing and understanding could happen. If you can’t trust someone, they probably aren’tworth your time.

Relationships with Parents and with FriendsThere are many types of relationships. The relationship you

have with your parents is very different than the relationshipyou have with close friends. Relationships are forms of connectedness. How connected you feel with another persondepends mostly on interaction. The bond that you have withyour mom and dad should be different than the bond youhave with a close friend. Those relationships are supposed tobe different, and how a person builds a relationship is whatmakes the bonds weak or strong. You may not see eye to eyewith your parents all the time, but you are still bonded tothem. You may have disagreements with your friends, but youstill share the bond of friendship.

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Relationships in SchoolRelationships in school take on many meanings. You have

relationships with teachers, principals, and counselors that areon a professional level. You have the students you see in thehallway as acquaintances, but you really don’t know them asa person. You have the students that you have class with eachday. You might sit next to someone or work with a team for aproject, but he or she may not be a close friend. You have yourcore group of friends that you hang out with whenever youcan. All of these relationships build your school environment.If any one of those relationships is out of whack, your daycould go from fabulous to bad in a heartbeat. What’s funnyabout it all is that if one relationship is out of whack, quitepossibly one of your other relationships will be the help youneed to get your day back on track. Take the time to buildsolid relationships at school, as you spend much of your daythere. Knowing that you have people you can trust can makeall of the difference in your outlook on life.

With whom have you built strong relationships?

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Good Character in RelationshipsIt’s important to understand that we all have differences.

Because we have differences, we can learn from one another.People of character are not biased or rude to other people.Instead, they take the high road and treat people with respect,no matter what people around them say. This can be difficultwhen you decide to befriend the new kid, the student who obviously doesn’t have any friends, or to come to the aid ofsomeone who is being bullied or sexually harassed while yourgroup of friends snickers in the background. A person of character doesn’t stand by and let someone else do what isright. He/she knows what is right in a given situation, and will do whatever it takes to help someone out. He/she is notcaught up with social status, what people think of them, orhow much money someone has. He/she believes that being aperson of character is about doing good things with each day.

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M A K I N G DECISIONS

People of Character… Decision Making

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. We make hundreds of decisionseach day—from what to eat to what to wear to how to treat thekid you sit next to on the bus or the lunchroom. Decisions areeverywhere. What you decide is entirely up to you.

Being a person of character means that as you are makingthese hundreds of decisions each day, you are asking yourself,“Am I keeping what is right at the forefront?”Too many times it’s easy to get caught up in peer pressure

and the desire to belong to the group and not stick out. But it’sin those times that decision-making is most important.

Name a situation that you were in recently where you didn’t agreewith your friends:

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Did you make a stand for your opinion?............................................

What was the outcome? ...................................................................

No one wants to stick out. It is a human’s desire to belong to the group. But sometimes making a good decision meansmaking a conscious choice to “stick out” and do what is goodand right for you.

What are other decisions that you have made that you are proud of?

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What are some decisions that you are not proud of?

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Did you correct the outcome?............................................................

Or what was the result? ....................................................................

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Pressure to try alcohol/drugs/tobaccoThere may be times in your life when you are offered drugs oralcohol by a peer. There are so many risks that are involvedwhen you choose to use drugs or alcohol. Your body is at astage of development that it cannot handle such things—thuswhy it is illegal for you to smoke, drink, or use drugs. Rulesare made for your safety, and should not be broken. Not onlydoes the use of drugs or alcohol hurt your body, it impairs yourjudgment and could lead you to make decisions that you willregret later.If you already have an addiction of one or all of these

substances, there is always help. There are many adults within the school and outside of school that can help. • Counselors• Teachers • Principals• Parents

Talk with someone, it is never too late.You are in control of your own body, even if you feel like you

have no control. People of character take decision makingvery seriously. How you choose to live your life is a directreflection of your character. The decisions you make todayimpact your future. Make those decisions wisely.

Your personal contact list:

Counselor ....................................................................................

Teacher ........................................................................................

Principal ......................................................................................

D.A.R.E officer .............................................................................Sam

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T I M E MANAGEMENT

People of Character… in Time ManagementDo you feel like you’re always busy? Do you feel like you’realways trying to juggle several things that you’re involved injust to keep your head above water?

Make a list of everything that you have to do today, from the timeyou got up this morning to when you will go to bed tonight. Includeany extra-curricular activities or family obligations.

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Are they all of equal importance?.....................................................

What would you take out if you could? ............................................

What would the effect be? ...............................................................

Teens today are busy. It’s a fact of life in our society. Thetoughest part is finding balance in your life as a teenager. Youneed time with your friends, time for your activities, time withyour family, and most importantly, time for you. Carving outenough time for each of those aspects of your life is difficult,but it can be done well if you plan for it!Sam

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Time Management Tools – You have been given a great tool for time management—thisplanner! Your teachers and your parents expect you to use it, butyour planner isn’t about them—it’s about you! If you learn touse your planner well now, you will set yourself up for success.Many adults today use either paper or electronic planners everysingle day to stay organized. They are busy, too, and whenyou’re a parent, not only do you have your own schedule to keepstraight, but you have your entire family’s schedule to keeporganized as well! If you begin a good habit of keeping a goodplanner now, your life later on will be much easier.

How to use your planner:1. Write down all of your school assignments and long term

projects.2. Keep track of elective courses.3. Log all of your activities after school, even your family

activities.4. Make sure you include anything you are planning for the

weekend.5. Don’t forget down time. Leave open some space in your

schedule when you are at home that you can relax.6. Review your week-at-a-glance often. You will find that the

time spent working with your planner will pay off inmany ways.

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Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses. Confucius

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QUOTES:Education has for its object the formation of character. Herbert Spencer

NOTES:

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: Aug 10, 1846 - Smithsonian Institution created HALL PASSCHECK OUT

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S T R E S S A N D CHANGE

People of Character… Stress and Change

Is being a high school student stressful? There are lots of students who feel stressed every day.

There’s the pressure to do well in school and get good gradesfor yourself and also to please parents. With this pressure comesthe stress of more homework than in middle school. It’s expectedas you grow and develop mentally, you need to be challenged tothink in more diverse ways, therefore, with each year in schoolcomes higher expectations from teachers. There’s the pressure todo well in school so that you can earn scholarships or admissionto college or technical school in the future. And then severaltimes a year, stress levels rise in your schools as it’s time to takesemester tests or state/national assessments. All of this couldstress a person out…and this is just from school.

What about outside of academics? There’s stress that cancome from friends. You know what this is—this person isn’ttalking to that person because he said this or she said that,and the group that you hang out with is getting all upset andtalking about it which causes even more stress so now no oneis talking to anyone. Or when someone starts a rumor about aperson and it truly does end up hurting the person that it isabout because it wasn’t true in the first place. A person ofcharacter will choose not to take part in the “drama.” Theytake the high road. No one wants to be hurt emotionally orphysically. Do your best to keep hurt from happening to yourself or others.

What types of things stress you out?

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Don’t forget that taking time for YOU is a great way to relievestress! You need downtime every day to decompress and reflect onyour day. This time alone allows your mind and body to get therest it needs. You need to rest your world so that you can take ona new day tomorrow. Remember, schedule that time for you.Your mind and body will thank you for being respectful andresponsible to you, and your stress levels will decrease!

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With every school year adds more responsibility. Your parentsexpect more of you. Your teachers expect more of you. Yourcoaches expect more of you. Expectations get higher and higher.

What expectations do you feel you need to meet each day?

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As you continue to mature, the changes that you see in yourbody and your mind sometimes cause changes to happen inother aspects of your life. The relationships you have withyour friends and family probably will change slightly. What isimportant throughout it all is that you remember that peopleof character take the time to think before they speak. Oftentimes we say things that we really don’t mean, and we end uphurting someone. Take the time to remember that if you valuethe relationships that you have with your family and friends,you will take the time to build those relationships every singleday and not take a day off! If the relationships you have withfriends and family stay stable, dealing with the changes thatare happening elsewhere will be way easier!

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G L O B A L CITIZEN

People of Character… Global Citizen

We live in a global society. Goods and services are traded all over the world every single day. The Internethas expanded the availability of products by the click of a mouse. We are connected to people worldwidethrough technology on many levels, but there are otherways that we can be connected.

Being a global citizen means that you are aware and see the impact of your personal decisions on yoursurroundings. Taking the time to care about your ownschool, city, state, nation and world means that everyday is an opportunity to bring about change.

Ways you can impact the World:

Education – the things you learn in school directlyapply to the world when you become part of the workforce or consume products.

Earth – initiate a recycling program and create awareness in your community.

Volunteerism – find organizations that need help supporting their causes to improve homelessness,hunger, or immigrant transition.

Your Challenge – Find some positive way that you cangive back to your community and step up to citizenship!

*Instructions: Citizens impact the world with their personaldecisions. Take a minute to fill in the staircase with thingsthat you can do to impact each of the communities in whichyou are a member. Remember, every day is an opportunityfor good citizens to bring about change!

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World .............................................................

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Nation ..................................................................

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State ............................................................................

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City .....................................................................................

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School .......................................................................................

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I A M T H E DIFFERENCE

I am the Difference

Project ........................................Hours logged..................

The end result of the project? .............................................

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How do you feel about your involvement? ........................

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Will you stay in touch with this organization? .................

Project ........................................Hours logged..................

The end result of the project? .............................................

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How do you feel about your involvement? ........................

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Will you stay in touch with this organization? .................

Project ........................................Hours logged..................

The end result of the project? .............................................

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How do you feel about your involvement? ........................

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Will you stay in touch with this organization? .................

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of theearth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfishcaring, patience, and just plain love for one another.

- Erma Brombeck

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