1) The article distinguishes between "moral character" and "performance character".
"In 2008, a national organization called the Character Education Partnership published a paper that divided character education into two categories: programs that develop “moral character,” which embodies ethical values like fairness, generosity and integrity; and those that address “performance character,” which includes values like effort, diligence and perseverance. The CARE program falls firmly on the “moral character” side of the divide, while the seven strengths that Randolph and Levin have chosen for their schools lean much more heavily toward performance character: while they do have a moral component, strengths like zest, optimism, social intelligence and curiosity aren’t particularly heroic; they make you think of Steve Jobs or Bill Clinton more than the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi."Here's what interesting: It's easy for students to believe in the importance of performance character; adopt these habits and you're more likely to become successful. Everyone wins.
Moral character, on the other hand, doesn't have such a tangible appeal. Encouraging moral character is like saying, be a good person, include and respect others, not because you'll benefit -- and you may not -- but rather, because if everyone acted in these ways, the world (we hope) would probably be a better place.
2) Talk about the use of a Hidden Curriculum:
"A month later, I returned to KIPP to visit Witter’s classroom. By that point in the school year, character language had permeated Infinity. Kids wore T-shirts with the slogan “Infinite Character” and Seligman’s 24 character strengths listed on the back. The walls were covered with signs that read “Got self-control?” and “I actively participate!” (one indicator for zest). There was a bulletin board in the hallway topped with the words “Character Counts,” where students filled out and posted “Spotted!” cards when they saw a fellow student performing actions that demonstrate character. (Jasmine R. cited William N. for zest: “William was in math class and he raised his hand for every problem.”)"
3) Kids aren't going through that much failure these days. It's not that they're being coddled -- they're working their asses off -- it's just that the work is inside a bubble, and students aren't allowed, let alone encouraged, to explore, make mistakes, and undergo the experiences that develop character.
When I asked Randolph to explain just what he thought Riverdale students were missing out on, he told me the story of his own scholastic career. He did well in boarding school and was admitted to Harvard, but when he got to college, he felt lost, out of step with the power-tie careerism of the Reagan ’80s. After two years at Harvard, Randolph left for a year to work in a low-paying manual job, as a carpenter’s helper, trying to find himself. After college, he moved for a couple of years to Italy, where he worked odd jobs and studied opera. It was an uncertain and unsettled time in his life, filled with plenty of failed experiments and setbacks and struggles. Looking back on his life, though, Randolph says that the character strengths that enabled him to achieve the success that he has were not built in his years at Harvard or at the boarding schools he attended; they came out of those years of trial and error, of taking chances and living without a safety net. And it is precisely those kinds of experiences that he worries that his students aren’t having.
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Here's a thought: How much "grit" do you have if you can't put your 100% into a personal goal that doesn't have a grade attached to it? The evaluation for grit may be more accurate if you took grades away for a month, gave them the time to pursue what they're passionate about, and observed the results. One part of grit, I imagine, is the ability to perform A+ work, regardless of the subject; another part, I would argue, is the capability to pursue self-defined projects, without external pressures or evaluations. Because after all, for most of our lives, no one's watching us -- that is, except ourselves.
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