Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

CHAPTER 2: Performance Character and Moral CharacterTHE WISDOM OF THE AGES ON THE POWER OF CHARACTERON PERFORMANCE CHARACTERThe importance of effort:A teacher opens the door, but you must enter yourself.—CHINESE PROVERBThe importance of hard work:Nothing worth having ever comes except as the result ofhard work.—BOOKER T. WASHINGTONThe importance of diligence:The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s worksuperbly well.—WILLIAM OSLERThe importance of perseverance:The triumph cannot be had without the struggle.—WILMA RUDOLPHThe importance of confidence:You must do the thing you think you cannot do.—ELEANOR ROOSEVELTThe importance of courage:Courage is the first of human qualities, because it is thequality which guarantees all the others.—WINSTON CHURCHILLThe importance of attitude:Everything can be taken from us except one thing—thefreedom to choose our attitude in any set of circumstances.The importance of self-discipline:Discipline yourself, and others won’t have to.—VIKTOR FRANKL—JOHN WOODENON MORAL CHARACTERThe importance of conscience:Do not cut your conscience to fit the year’s fashions.—CATHERINE COOKSONThe importance of justice:Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.—THE GOLDEN RULEThe importance of respect:Civilization is an attitude of equal respect for all people.—JANE ADDAMSThe importance of love:It is not how much we do, but how much love we putinto the doing.—MOTHER TERESAThe importance of citizenship:The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is forgood men to do nothing.The importance of truth:Truth is the only safe ground to stand on.—EDMUND BURKE—ELIZABETH CADY STANTONThe importance of self-control:Be patient in one moment of anger, and you will escapea hundred days of sorrow.—PROVERBThe importance of humility:Anyone who makes a mistake and does not admit it ismaking another mistake.—CONFUCIUStalent development show that performance character,including self-discipline and good work habits, is neededto develop innate ability. In their book Talented Teenagers,a 5-year longitudinal study of 200 talented adolescents,Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Kevin Rathunde, and SamuelWhalen note that underachievement on the part of talentedyouth is common in fields as varied as athletics, art,science, mathematics, and music. Their research question:Why do some young people become committed tothe development of their talent, while others drop out?Through their study they found that teens who morestrongly persisted in developing their talent: (1) had astronger “achievement and endurance orientation”; (2)were more likely to develop habits conducive to talentdevelopment (such as focusing on goals whether doingtalent-related work or general schoolwork, being able tospend time alone, and, when they did spend time withfriends, collaborating on hobbies and studying instead ofsimply “hanging out”); (3) had more conservative sexualattitudes than their peers; (4) were more likely to haveharmonious and supportive families; (5) had more productiveschool experiences, including teachers who stimulatedthem, cared about their interests, and modeled24Smart & Good High Schools