Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Teaching Character through Team Leadership Jobs

While every student may not excel in athletics, every child feels valued and important in Kate Schill's lower campus Physical Education class.  "My team  counts on me," said Hayley in 2nd grade.  "As Equipment Manager I have to do a lot!" This is the culture that Miss. Schill has created for her students.   Through the development of student jobs, the lower campus gym is a place where every student matters and feels the responsibility to help others.

"I started team jobs over ten years ago for a variety of reasons," said Miss Schill.  Each quarter, students are placed into teams of 5 and assigned individual jobs for the team.  From Clothing Keeper to Problem Solver, each student is given responsibilities and consequently learn to work effectively together.  You can see right from the start that it helps create order and cuts down on chaos, but this is secondary to helping students practice leadership and Union Academy's eight Character Traits.

The skills learned in elementary PE are remembered years later as evidenced in speaking with current eighth grade student Jack Vitacco.  "I loved PE with Miss Schill," he said.  "Because of the teams in her class I was able to get to know my classmates better. I learned to never give up, even if it seemed too hard."   That is another benefit of student jobs; they help students feel connected to others by building relationships.  In addition, they provide opportunities for students to feel regular successes and appreciated.

Miss Schill advocates that all classrooms could benefit from creating student jobs in their classrooms.  Leader In Me, by  S, Covey states that teachers begin by asking themselves, "What can students do that I am currently doing?"  The key is not so much the jobs the students are doing, but the fact that they are taking ownership for the orderliness and success of the classroom.  Take a look in Miss Schill's gym.  Talk to her current or previous students and you will see that the lessons they learn in her PE class are more than how to hold a hockey stick or the proper form for push-ups.  They learn that they are significant to achieving their own success and to the success of others.  Those are the long-term lesson of Character Education.

Teachers and staff look below for some ideas on ways to create leadership jobs for students:



Help spread the word on how Union Academy focuses on Character Education.  Email Kelly Brun at kbrun@unionacademy.org with suggestions on a teacher, lesson, activity, or practice that should be highlighted on this blog.









Thursday, January 21, 2016

Union Academy hosts Jerry Ackerman, speaker on Social Media Awareness for Parents and Students

This week, Union Academy hosted guest speaker, Jerry Ackerman, who addressed parents and high school students on Social Media Awareness.  Mr. Ackerman is a leading student speaker who helps students be responsible, develop character, and build a focus on others, instead of just themselves. When Technology Director, Katie Stewart discovered the opportunity to have Jerry speak at Union Academy, she knew that the school could not pass up his presentation.  "Social media issues and communication are such a hot topic in today’s society.  I felt like both Union Academy parents and students could benefit from hearing how to stay safe online, how to communicate effectively, and how to be responsible while using technology," said Mrs. Stewart.  

On Tuesday night, Mr. Ackerman spoke on "Parenting the Snapchat Generation".  In his workshop, parents learned about the current state of technology in a student's life and rules that parents should have for their child and technology.   He discussed the dangers involved in applications such as Snapchat, Thumb, Burn Note, and Down which can open users up to communicating with unknown  persons and cyberbullying.  Parents learned about apps that can be used to hide media including videos, texts, documents, and PDFs (often disguised as a calculator)In addition, Mr. Ackerman provided useful tips to parents such as using Life360 to help keep up with your child's location.  "I learned so much from the presentation and was reassured that it's OK to be a protective parent.  It is not a violation of privacy to keep up with who my kids are communicating with online and it is my job to protect them from online dangers," said Amy Plyer, a Union Academy parent and employee.    

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Ackerman addressed the high school student body with his keynote, "Dude.  Be Nice."  In this workshop, he discussed with students the "dos and don'ts of social media" and why a person's online identify matters long term.  He provided real life examples to drive home his points.  Personal responsibility, respect, and compassion for others were key topics.  Senior Shawna Sheperd felt that Mr. Ackerman's message "was a good reminder of our social media footprint and how it can affect our lives."   Throughout the presentation, Mr. Ackerman used student volunteers to demonstrate his message.  The students appreciated Mr. Ackerman's high energy and anecdotes that drove home the message on making good choices and showing good character.

Guest speakers such as Mr. Ackerman are just one of the many ways UA strives to meet its mission of educating the whole the child and facilitating collaborative family and community involvement.  


Friday, January 15, 2016

Journaling Towards Emotional Well-Being and Success

After reading the Psychology Today article, Writing Your Way Through Emotional Pain, Miss Dotson, a High School Social Studies teacher at Union Academy, was inspired to teach her students methods for gaining positive emotional health and gratitude.  She began this project in December with a discussion about the article and the purported benefits of "Morning Pages" or journaling.  This led to classroom discussion about the benefits or detriments of our self-talk, or the constant stream of thoughts that float around in our subconscious. For many teenagers the self-talk is often negative and unproductive.  According to the article, journaling is an excellent tool for a person to tune into their feelings and move towards achieving goals and happiness.  Miss Dotson put these discussions into action by giving her students 10 minutes in class each week to journal.  
"Think of it as a time to empty your brain.  You can write down anything that comes to mind.  This is your time.  It is my gift to you,"  she told her students.  At first, many students were uncomfortable with the assignment and especially with the silence. "Most teens have not been taught to tune in to their own thoughts and feelings," said school counselor Kelly Brun.  "Instead they are constantly bombarded with technology and social interaction."  With guidance, support, and repetition, Miss Dotson's students now understand and appreciate the weekly warm-up.  "As a Junior, I have a lot of stress thinking about college, scholarships, and my grades.  By writing it all down, I feel more calm and on top of all those lingering tasks," states UA student Autumn Richard.

According to Miss Dotson, students now request to have time for Morning Pages.  "I think that many of my students have discovered the value of journaling and have found common themes in their negative thoughts or feelings."  Awareness of those patterns leads to change and that change leads to success in life.  Mrs. Brun sees the long-term value in teaching students to self-reflect.  "If kids can learn at a young age the power of thoughts, they can tap into that power and move towards success."