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THE POWER OF CARING for Elementary Schools Success Secrets for Principals, Teachers, and Parents Note: The manuscript for The Power of Caring for Elementary Schools is with the publisher and the book should be in your favorite bookstore sometime in the near future. In the meantime, a different chapter from this book will be shared on this page each week. (Author: Elmer Winner) Table of Contents A Note to Parents A Blueprint for Success Our School Motto, Creed, and Pledge Script for Kids to Kids Positive Person Messages New Student Orientation Introduction to Self-Discipline A Tough Love Approach to Discipline Self-Control Techniques How to View Difficult Children Home-School Reading Project Mentors for Children Program How to Motivate Children Honor Assemblies An Old-Fashioned Spelling Bee A Good Ending Discipline Filing System Supporting Data, Evidences of Success Concluding Thoughts and Suggestions A Final Word Our School Motto, Creed, and Pledge It’s a shame that the motto, creed, and pledge shared here has been kept a secret for all these years. I created this document about forty years ago and found it to be a very helpful and powerful tool in so many ways, but especially in the character development of children. It emphasizes caring for school, others, and self; it will promote good will and a good school spirit among children, staff, and parents. I believe this particular motto, creed, and pledge should be used in every elementary classroom, in every school in America, and beyond! Our School Motto: At (name of your school) every child is important. We care about kids! Our School Creed: We believe: You should care about your school; You should care about others; You should care about yourself. It’s the right thing to do! Our School Pledge: Because I care about (name of school): I will obey my teachers; I will keep the school rules; I will help my school be at its best. Because I care about others: I will set a good example; I will be nice to everyone; I will help those who need me. Because I care about myself: I will do my best work in school; I will stay out of trouble; I will try again when I make a mistake. Why Is This Particular Motto, Creed, and Pledge So Important? I’m reminded of a kind gentleman and his story needs to be told; it illustrates in a beautiful way that children can learn to care for and support one another. “One Spring afternoon, I came home to find two little girls on the steps of my building. Both were crying hard, shedding big tears. Thinking they might be hurt, I dropped my briefcase and quickly went over to them. ‘Are you all right?’ I asked. Still sobbing, one held up her doll. ‘My baby's arm came off,’ she said. I took the doll and its disjointed arm. After a little effort and luck, the doll was again whole. ‘Thank you.’ came a whisper. Next looking into the tearful eyes of her friend, I asked, ‘and what's the matter with you, young lady?’ She wiped her cheeks. ‘I was helping her cry,’ she said.” Wow! What a revelation of how children can learn to care for and support one another even at a very early age. I do not know the author of this story called Friends, but I think it is special and have shared it with many people. This particular Motto, Creed, and Pledge are very important because they teach and communicate the concept of caring to children in a very effective manner. There is power in caring, and when a child learns to value and commit acts of caring toward others, an important step has been taken in the development of a healthy self-image in that child. You will note that the motto, creed, and pledge relate to the important balance between caring for self and caring for others. If this balance is not maintained, the result will be a very unpleasant and negative person. One of the greatest aids toward self-esteem for anyone is to learn to really care and do something worthwhile for others. • The Motto—I have used this particular school motto for many years and in many schools, as a very effective tool in communicating to children, parents, and the community that we care. At the beginning of the year, the motto, “At (Name of School) every child is important. We care about kids!” was displayed on a large bulletin board by the office. It was printed at the bottom of practically every newsletter throughout the school year. As a spin-off activity, a poster was placed on the door of every classroom with the following words and signed by the teacher, “In this classroom every child is important. I care about kids!” One way to communicate that we care is to keep saying it over and over, and the school motto is a good tool to use in doing so. Of course, in addition to saying that we care, we also must show that we care in as many ways as possible, for the words are empty and meaningless without the substance. • The Creed—We care! Our school motto says it, and we show it. Now, please don’t miss this important connection. Because we care and communicate it in such clear terms that no one can deny that it is true, it therefore follows that it is our expectation that our children care also. They need help and guidance, however, in learning how to say and show that they care. The school creed is an important tool that can be used to help children say with words that they care. It is a very short affirmation and therefore easy to learn. • The Pledge—The school pledge is necessarily much longer because it defines the behavior that is necessary on the part of children in order to prove and show that they really care. You will be amazed, however, at how quickly children are able to memorize the pledge, and how they really enjoy reciting it to each other and/or together in chorus. How Do You Teach the Motto, Creed, and Pledge? This tool should be given high priority and practically lived with during the first couple months of the school year. Here is a list of recommended activities. You will think of others. 1. Ask teachers to begin the first day of school and every day for the first couple months by having children recite the motto, creed, and pledge. The entire class should repeat after the teacher, using short phrases at first, but within a few weeks, they will be able to recite along with their teacher or an assigned leader. I suggest that teachers spend the first week on the school motto alone; the second week on the school motto and the school creed together; and after that, the school motto, creed, and pledged all combined. After two or three months of intensive training, the motto, creed, and pledge should then be recited at least once every two weeks for review. 2. Offer a prize to any child in the school who will memorize and recite the motto, creed, and pledge to the school principal. I had great success with this activity every year, with a large majority of children participating. I’m sure you will agree that there are many spin-off benefits that occur when a principal makes this brief but positive contact with a large number of pupils. Any prize will work. Most of the time, I gave ten Tootsie Rolls as a prize, but another possibility is a neat, positive message pen imprinted with the message, “At (name of school) every child is important. We care about kids!” The principal’s name and school phone should also be part of the inscription. 3. Early in the year, children should write the motto, creed, and pledge. Younger children can write portions of it. Writing is a good tool to aid retention. Of course, this should be done in ways that are meaningful to children. Writing letters is one example. “Dear (Parents), this is our school motto. At (name of school) every child is important. We care about kids! Love, John.” Older children can write the entire motto, creed, and pledge in a letter to parents, to grandparents, to a newspaper editor, to city and government officials, etc. 4. Encourage those who are first to memorize the motto, creed, and pledge to coach others until they memorize it also. I have observed many children doing this on their own time during recess, etc. 5. It is important for teachers to take a little time each day to discuss the meaning of each of the parts of the motto, creed, and pledge and ask questions that will cause children to think about the concepts involved. I have often been surprised by how difficult it is for some children to answer a simple question like, “What does our school pledge mean when it says, ‘I will set a good example’?” The script for kids to kids in the following chapter will be helpful in starting classroom discussions about the importance and meaning of the motto, creed, and pledge. 6. Find as many ways as possible to illustrate the meaning of the caring concepts in the motto, creed, and pledge: pictures, examples from your own life, behaviors you have observed in others, current events, etc. 7. Always try to recognize those children who are modeling the descriptive behaviors in the school pledge. This reinforcement is important, but make sure it is done in ways that will encourage and not embarrass the child. Some need public praise; some need private praise, etc. 8. Select individual children or an entire classroom of children to recite the motto, creed, and pledge to visitors or volunteers who come into your building or classroom. This makes a very positive impression upon visitors and also creates a feeling of pride among children and staff. Why Do So Many Children Who Learn to Say the Motto, Creed, and Pledge Fail to Do What It Says? This could be one of your first observations and perhaps your first question after you initiate this activity. In fact, I have observed that some children who are among the first to memorize it and pick up their prize are among the last to learn to model the behaviors described. Try hard not to be discouraged at this point. In time, they will learn to do what it says. It just takes longer for children to learn to do what it says than it does to learn to say it, and for some children it takes quite a while. Why? I am sure you will recognize that it has something to do with the three primary levels of learning. The first level is the knowledge level. This level of learning has been reached when a child is able to repeat back a bit of information in the same form in which it was received, like quoting the motto, creed, and pledge. This is a necessary first step, but it is also important to help children reach the second level, which is called the understanding level of learning. At this level, children are able to share information they have learned in their own words, showing that they understand the concepts learned. This is why it is important to discuss the meaning of the motto, creed, and pledge using questions, illustrations, etc. The understanding level is also a necessary step in the learning process, but our primary goal is to help every child reach the third level of learning, the application level. Be patient; it’s just a deeper level of learning for all of us to achieve and therefore takes much longer. Also, please consider this important insight regarding the behavior of many children. Those children who do not have a healthy self-image will have a very difficult time reaching the application level of learning with the important caring concepts and social skills included in the motto, creed, and pledge. Why? Perhaps it is because they are compelled to act out in their behavior what they see themselves to be as a person. It seems to me that children may act out a particular pattern of behavior based on their own image of themselves, which is engraved in both the conscious and subconscious minds, and because the subconscious mind is involved, much of that behavior is acted out automatically without even thinking about it. Have you ever rewarded or praised children for doing some good deed and then observed them to immediately go off and do something terrible? It’s hard to understand, isn’t it? It’s hard to understand, unless we recognize that there seems to be a compulsion within the child that forces him to act out what he really believes himself to be. The process that takes place in either the conscious or subconscious mind could be something like this: “Doing a good deed and being rewarded for it—no, that’s not like you. Do something quickly to prove what you really are.” It has been suggested that the compulsion within children to act out certain patterns of behavior can be compared to a thermostat on the wall, which keeps the room temperature constant in your home according to the setting. In order to change the temperature, you must change the setting of the thermostat. And so it is with children; in order to change their behavior, we must first change or improve their self-image. Again, please be patient. Never give up! It takes time and it takes consistency, but a change will occur if you are determined to make it occur.

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