THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING PRINCIPLED:
"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot." -Mark Twain, US Novelist.
Dear CIS Families:
I hope you had an enjoyable day off. To commemorate President's day take some time to review with your child the meaning of the word PRINCIPLED. According to the International Baccalaureate Program
PRINCIPLED people have a sound grasp of the principles of moral reasoning. They have integrity, honesty, and a sense of fairness and justice (IBO, 2000). Here is a list of some things you can do with your child:
- Talk with your child about why they think they are a person who is principled using, "I think I am/am not a person of principles because..."
- For older students, have your child make a list of their principles, or your most basic beliefs, that would not be compromised no matter what. Now have them select one; write about a time where they did something courageous by standing up for this principle.
- Have your child write a letter to someone in the news whose principles have impressed you.
- Talk about what it means to "compromise your principles." Give examples. Talk about what the phrase "Let your life speak" means
- Catch your child being principled. Make sure your child knows he/she has done something good. Expressing your approval is a powerful way to reinforce the profiles.
- Allowing children to reflect on their own experiences is probably the best step toward creating principled children. Talk about decisions they make throughout their day that relate to the idea of being a principled person-at recess, their learning, during specials, with friends and teachers, at lunch, and so on.
- When a child is reading, ask, "What does this story tell us about ourselves? What does it tell us about others? How will this knowledge change our thinking and actions?"
- When a child makes a poor choice, allow them to understand why the choice wasn't the best one. Ask them whether other people in their environment are impacted by their actions, decisions, and choices. Discuss alternative choices for future situations. Discussions like this will allow your child to gradually learn what is fair, honest, just, and socially acceptable.
Book List to help magnify the Learner's Profile of PRINCIPLED:
Aliki. A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for
Young readers, 1988. This is a story of a man who was born a slave and became a scientist.
Brown, Marc Tolon. Arthur and the True Francine. Boston: Little Brown, 1996. Francine and Muffy are friends until Muffy lets Francine take the blame for cheating on a test. Good for PK-2nd graders.
Cooney, Barbara. Miss Rumphius. Miss Rumphius tries to make the world more beautiful by planting flowers.
De Groat, Diane. Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire. NY: SeaStar Books, 2003. Gilbert is nervous about portraying George Washington in front of the class, and he feels worse when he cannot find his main prop.
Havill, Juanita. Jamaica's Find. Houghton Mifflin, 1986. A girl finds a stuffed dog in the park and decides to take it home.
Henkes, Kevin. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. Lilly realizes she has behaved badley towards her teacher.
Good for PK-2nd graders.
McLenighan, Valijean and Jones, Brent. I Know You Cheated. Milwaukee: Raintree Editions, 1977. A young child cheats on a spelling test and learns an important lesson about self-respect.
Oukjetm Dav. The Paperboy. Good for PK-2nd graders. A young boy and his dog get up early to deliver newspapers.
Pfister, Marcus. Milo and the Magical Stones. Milo North-South Books, 1997. A mouse discovers an extraordinary stone that can bring delight and disaster to the world. Halfway through the book, it splits into two sections, each offering a different ending.
Polacco, Patricia. Chicken Sunday. NY: Philomel Books, 1992. To thank Miss Eula for her wonderful
Sunday chicken dinners, three children sell eggs to buy her an Easter hat.
Stuart, Jesse. A Penny's Worth of Character. Jesse Stuart Foundation, 1993. Shan is dishonest with the storekeeper in his community, but he feels better when he sets things right.
Principled Websites:
http://www.heartwoodethics.org/
(Teaching Life Lessons through Literature -Justice: being guided by a balance of truth, reason and fairness to all)
http:// http://www.goodcharacter.com/index.html
(Great resources for character education.)
