Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

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CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 8think more deeply about what it means to be a man andabout the kind of man they want to become.OUTCOME 8:Spiritual PersonPromising Practice 3:8Ask students to develop a missionstatement.In his best-selling book, The 7 Habits ofHighly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes, “The mosteffective way to begin with the end in mind is to developa personal mission statement. It focuses on what youwant to be (character) and to do (contributions andachievements) and on the values or principles uponwhich being and doing are based.” Research shows thatsuccessful organizations have mission statements thatinfluence the culture of the organization and the characterof its members. 38 Personal mission statements canhelp each of us make the most of our lives.Research shows that successfulorganizations have mission statements.Leadership for LifeIn one of our site visits, we had an opportunity to watch ateacher work with students to help them craft a missionstatement. The course was “Leadership for Life,” an electivefor juniors and seniors.Mrs. A. asked students to begin work on their missionstatement during week six of class. To set the stage, sheshowed a clip from the Tom Cruise film, “Jerry Maguire.”Maguire, a sports agent who begins to question his ownintegrity and the integrity of his profession as a whole, hasa nightmare in which he is drowning. He wakes up andasks himself, “What am I, just another shark in a suit?”That morning, he sits down and writes his mission statement,a pledge to care about other people. He puts hismanifesto announcing the new person he intends to be inthe mailboxes of his colleagues at work. At first Maguireis deeply satisfied with his principled stance, but then, ashe realizes that he has made public his deepest privateconvictions, he begins to panic. His colleagues publiclyapplaud his principled statement, but are privately cynical.Ultimately, Maguire loses his job as his colleagues usehis statement to undermine his credibility.Mrs. A. reviewed the highlights of the clip to make surestudents had picked up on the key points: “Any of youever feel as if you were drowning, even though youweren’t in water? What is he feeling in that scene? . . . .When we take a stand to do the right thing, how does theworld often react?” She then handed out the assignment,“Personal Mission Statement,” and went over the directions(see box).WRITING YOUR MISSION STATEMENT1. What kind of person do I want to be (with regardto character, not career)?2. What do I want to do (with regard to contributionsand achievements, not career)?3. What unchanging values or principles will be thebasis for my being and doing?4. Imagine you are at your own funeral. What doyou want people to be saying about you?5. Make a list of “commandments” you believe in andwill follow in your life. Incorporate these into yourmission statement.Next, she handed out three examples of mission statements,including one by a high school junior (see box).Finally, to set a high standard of excellence, Mrs. A. readthis excerpt from Covey’s book:A mission statement is not something you write overnight.MY MISSION STATEMENT (17-YEAR-OLD BOY)◆ Have confidence in yourself and others.◆ Be kind, courteous, and respectful to all people.◆ Set reachable goals; never lose sight of them.◆ Never take the simple things in life for granted.◆ Appreciate other people’s differences.◆ Ask questions.◆ Remember that before you can change someone else,you must first change yourself.◆ Speak with your actions.◆ Make time to help the less fortunate and those whoare having a bad day.◆ Read this mission statement every day. 39202Smart & Good High Schools
CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 8It takes deep introspection, careful analysis, thoughtfulexpression, and often many rewrites to produce it in finalform. It may take several weeks or even months before youfeel it is a complete and concise expression of your innermostvalues and directions. 40“A mission statement takes deepintrospection and many rewritesto produce it in final form.”In keeping with Covey’s exhortation, Mrs. A’s studentssubmitted the first drafts of their Personal Mission Statementsfor teacher and peer feedback but then continuedto refine them all semester.OUTCOME 8:Spiritual PersonPromising Practice 4:8Have students formulate andpursue meaningful life goals.Cultivating Heart and Character by TonyDevine and colleagues reports research indicating thatcultures around the world affirm three life goals assources of authentic happiness:1. maturity of character—becoming the best person wecan be2. loving relationships, such as marriage, family, andclose friendships.3. contributing to society—making a positive differencein the lives of others. 41We should share this research with our students. Then,within these three broad life goals, we can challengethem to formulate and pursue the particular goals thatwill give their individual lives meaning and direction.Lewis Terman’s research found that intellectually giftedhigh school students who learned to set and pursue goalswent on to achieve much higher levels of success thanequally gifted students who did not learn to set goals. 42One history teacher said, “If I were granted one wish forBorn originals, how comes it to passthat we die copies?—EDWARD YOUNGimproving education in this country, it would be toinclude instruction in goal-setting in every school.” 43 Toteach goal-setting in his classes, this teacher gave his studentsan assignment called “100 Goals” (see box).Says one of this teacher’s former students who is now apre-med student at U.C. Santa Barbara:100 GOALS1. Write at least 100 goals, more if you wish.2. Divide them into categories. You can choose yourown categories based on your interests. Here aresome you might want to consider; I encourage youto add some of your own:◆ education◆ career◆ family◆ learning◆ service to others◆ fun/adventure◆ creating/making/building◆ self-improvement◆ things you’d like to own◆ reading◆ U.S. travel◆ foreign travel◆ personal improvement◆ spiritual growth◆ major accomplishments.3. After you write the 100 goals, select the 10 thatare the most important to you. Write them in anyorder. Then write a paragraph on your #1 goal.Explain why it is so important to you.4. This assignment will be a significant part of your secondquarter grade. You have two choices:◆ Treat this as just another stupid school assignmentthat has to be done; or◆ Treat it as if you’re writing a preliminary blueprintfor the rest of your life. Write out a lifeplan that will keep you from becoming one ofthose “nice dead people” who go through themotions of living but never really live.5. If you do decide to take this assignment seriously,remember: THINK IN TERMS OF POSSIBILI-TIES, NOT LIMITATIONS.203Smart & Good High Schools
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A Report to the NationSmart & GoodH
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A wonderful piece of work that addr
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Dedicated to the memory ofWinifred
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AcknowledgementsWe would like to ex
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Table of ContentsLetter to the Read
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ELC PRINCIPLE 4: TAKE PERSONAL RESP
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1. Develop Critical Friends Groups
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Letter to The Reader“Are you a he
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Letter to the ReaderBut we also do
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How to Read This Reporttices relate
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Patrick Bassett, president, Nationa
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Research Methodologyand Criteria fo
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Research Methodology and Criteria f
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Principles of a Smart & Good High S
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CHAPTER 1The Call to Character:Perf
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est work and be their best ethical
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to Charactercha
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to Charactertin
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to CharacterA S
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to CharacterBec
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CHAPTER 1: The Call to CharacterTHE
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1C. Peterson & M. P. Seligman, Char
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CHAPTER 2: Performance Character an
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Smart & Good High SchoolsCHAPTER 2:
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do not self-identify as “characte
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EndnotesCHAPTER 2: Performance Char
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CHAPTER 3: The Ethical Learning Com
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Galvanized by this finding, she and
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(1) scheduling a weekend retreat in
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person has gifts; and the convictio
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CHAPTER 4The Professional Ethical L
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CHAPTER 4: The Professional Ethical
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CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strength
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on at home. If I think something se
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tragedy, injustice, and weak and si
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