In my experience, the greatest impediment to a child’s success in school is the gap between what the child’s parents believe and what the school believes. That gap generates a potential conflict in expectations and outcomes. Despite these differences, both parents and schools want the same thing – both intellectual and character development.

It is unrealistic to expect that the multitude of parental issues will all be identical.  Consequently, the school’s role is to do it’s best to summarize its expectations for families and to communicate those expectations effectively to parents and students.

This is never a simple task, but it needs to begin with an articulation that schools are in the business of building character as well as building the base for intellectual achievement. Schools must confidently position themselves as leaders in both character and intellectual development.

Teachers and administrators need to convince parents that:

a) they see the children in a setting that allows for a better assessment of strengths and weaknesses,

b) teachers and administrators are as concerned about character as they are about intellectual growth, and

c) teachers are experts that can be trusted in the field of education.

Great teachers hold high expectations for their children in both academics and character.  When teachers are perceived as caring about all of their children (and not just the intellectually gifted), they achieve the level of respect that they so well deserve.   The more a school can provide leadership to parents that good character is as important as strong academics, the more parents will believe that their children are in good hands. Both parents and schools will enjoy the shared task of working towards a common goal.

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Coming Next: Stories from American History: Thomas Jefferson

From our first posting: As parents and teachers, we need to reclaim our traditional role as influencers of our children – not by shouting louder than the influencers our children discover online, but by stressing ideas that are more important than fancy shoes and snappy TikTok tunes. We need to emphasize traits that everyone agrees children will honor.  We need to convince our children that the people who are most important to them have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful in life.

John Zurn began his educational career teaching fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children in K through grade 8, independent school settings.   He went on to serve as Head of School for three independent schools over a twenty-eight year period.   John has written a book on a comprehensive school-wide character education program which was published in 2022 and updated in 2024.  He is currently working on a book directed towards teaching Traits for Success to students in grades 4 through 8.

#charactereducation #success traits #parentingtips #homeschooling #teachertips