Last week, I wrote about Rodrigo, a student who struggled academically in the classroom but was overloaded with the character to become successful in life.  Rodrigo only learned after he left school that success comes in many forms.  This is not to say that academics are a waste of time.  Many students who are at the top of their classes academically, have demonstrated strong character skills to get there.   But being academically bright does not guarantee success after school.  All of us also know students who graduated at the top of their class who are less than successful.

And, of course, we also know students like Rodrigo, who failed miserably in schools, yet found success outside the classroom.  How did we get to this point when our nation was founded on the principle of teaching for both talent and virtue?

In my experience, great teachers have always found ways to reward good character in schools.  But the system is set up wrong.  The rewards of the school system (letter grades) are focused on the intellectually gifted.  This sets up a system where everyone (except the handful of students who vie for top scholar) receive, at best, watered-down praise.

Many schools experiment with character grades, but too often the grades are viewed as a move towards mediocrity.  But if the system is specifically geared towards students who have what it takes to be successful, then it seems to me that as educators we should design a system in which character grades for success terms- like Organization, Attentiveness, Courage, Generosity, Positive Attitude, Flexibility, and Responsibility- are valued as highly as academic grades.  It is my conviction that if we grade it, then our children will believe that the character they bring to the table is, in fact, important- certainly, as important as academic grades.

We welcome you to the conversation.  Please let us know that you care by liking comments, forwarding posts, or joining in our dialogue at johnzurn.com.

Coming Next Wednesday– Stories from the Classroom: James

 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 8^th grade 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.

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