John H. Zurn
Educational Author
John H. Zurn began his educational career as a teacher in the 1980’s. After ten years in the classroom, he was offered a position as Head of School at St. John’s Episcopal School in Olney, MD.
For the next twenty-eight years, Mr. Zurn served as Head of School at three independent day schools in different parts of the country.
In retirement, Mr. Zurn has put the lessons he learned about education, about schooling, and about democracy into his book.
Secrets of Success- Character Education in American Schools
The author, a forty year educator, makes the case for emphasizing character education over more traditional measures of academic success in schools. He then presents a yearlong program, Secrets of Success, that gives school parameters for establishing strong character education principles.
Secrets of Success
Organization: I plan ahead. I have places for everything. I am ready to learn.
Focus: I choose to focus on important things.
Courage: I am willing to stand up for what is right. I challenge myself.
Generosity: I give of myself to others. I act with empathy.
Grit: I keep trying in the face of adversity.
Positive Mindset: I can do it!
Resilience: I learn from failure. I try new ideas and different methods.
Independence: I can work confidently to solve problems on my own.
Collaboration: I can work confidently and cooperatively with others.
Responsibility: I take charge of my learning. I am a kind, honest, compassionate, and respectful person.
Discover The Secrets of Success Read Aloud Series
(Available at Amazon.com)
-
Traits For Success Book One: Organization
-
Traits For Success Book Two: Focus
-
Traits For Success Book Three: Courage
-
Traits For Success Book Four: Generosity
-
Traits For Success Book Five: Grit
-
Traits For Success Book Six: Positive Mindset
-
Traits For Success Book Seven: Resilience
-
Traits For Success Book Eight: Independence
-
Traits For Success Book Nine: Collaboration
-
Traits For Success Book Ten: Responsibility
Articles by John H. Zurn
The Challenges of Modern Society
For much of modern society, money has quietly graduated from being a useful tool to becoming the official scoreboard of life. We...
Lessons I Learned From Forty Years in Schools
After more than forty years in elementary schools—as a teacher and later as a Head of School—I learned something that no...
Why Character Matters More Than Report Cards
One lesson became increasingly clear during my years in education: preparing children for life is very different from...
What Went Wrong With American Schooling
From the earliest days of the American experiment, leaders such as Thomas Jefferson envisioned education as a means of...
Parenting in the Digital Age
It is time for parents and educators to reclaim authority over the raising of children. We have handed far too much...
The Challenges Our Children Face Today
Before we can teach values, we need to stop pretending that everyone’s values are completely different. Turn on cable news or...
My Blogs….
Stories From the Classroom: Daria
Daria had a weight problem in her elementary school years and it soon grew into a social problem with the other girls in the class. This started as the other girls in the class excluded her from activities. But Daria was quite bright and soon learned that if...
Stories From the Classroom- Jackson
Jackson was a difficult student. He was exceptionally bright and, in many cases, knew more than I did as his fourth grade teacher. When we had discussions about latest events in different parts of the world, Jackson always had new information and new stories to...
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan Haidt thoughtfully dissects the issues surrounding technology and children in his book, The Anxious Generation. He pinpoints a problem that began with children coming of age (from 2 to 18) after the introduction of the Apple iPhone in 2007. Children...