Homeschool parents need to think hard about how they define success for their children. Is it to become the best in their field? ….the top scholar? ….the wealthiest individual? ….the one with the finest collection of cars?  Or, is success more nuanced?

Homeschool parents should consider questions like:

• What makes you happy?
• What accumulation of “things” are critical for a successful life?
• Can happiness be found in strong family ties, in social networks that demand a community engagement, or in setting a moral example for others?

Once a parent thinks through these measures of success, it is critical that the next step is to express them to your child.  It is not enough to think about success and not express it.  Parents can review the book, Traits for Success, written by the author, to understand how a school might focus on character.  A homeschool measure of success traits might be based in similar measures.

However, parents who homeschool might consider adding (and deleting) success traits that are more relevant to their family needs.  Some families, with whom I have worked, have added traits like grit, resilience, confidence, punctuality, leadership, pride, curiosity, or imagination to their listing of Traits for Success to better fine tune the vocabulary for their family.  Other families have added traits like faith, humility, thoughtfulness, determination, or gratitude to focus on the strength of reliance on family community or a defined community throughout one’s life.

Ultimately, the choice of Traits for Success is less important than the implementation of those traits.

Next: How Homeschool Families Might Implement a Trait for Success

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.”

#charactereducation #successtraits #parentingtips #homeschooling #teachertips