Seventh-grade
Cast of Chara C ters:
boys, including Julian Frerichs, do an activity requiring nonverbal communication.
B R e C k
by Jill Field, photos by Sara Rubinstein
It’s not one of the original “3 Rs” of a traditional curriculum, but educators are increasingly aware of the importance of character education—and Breck has long led the way.
Role o F Cha R a C te R e du C ation
Lower School students have a monthly theme related to their C.A.R.E. (Character Always, Respect Every day) curriculum. Middle School students learn how to “Be a Mustang.” And Upper School students experience weekly service along with religious studies classes. When all is said and done, Breck aims to produce graduates who have been instilled with “a deep sense of social responsibility”—fulfilling Breck’s mission and creating lifelong habits they will take out into the wider world.
So what, exactly, is character education?
Doing research no Breck teacher would accept, we actually began with Wikipedia, which had this to say: “Character education is an umbrella term loosely used to describe the teaching of children in a manner that will help them develop variously as moral, civic, good, mannered, behaved, non-bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditional, compliant and/or socially acceptable beings.”
The cynical nature of that definition illustrates some popular misconceptions about character education: that it’s some kind of politically correct concept with no real tether to real life.
“Breck’s strength, today and in the future, is that our graduates are both academically accomplished and grounded with the highest standards of integrity, character and citizenship,” says Head of School Edward Kim. “The face of education can change with time, but the notion that students and teachers must flourish to positively influence their school, community and country will remain steadfast in that journey.”
Says Upper School Director Melissa Soderberg, “Cognitive scientists are increasingly finding that the environment the human brain is bathed in fundamentally shapes it. The actual neurons in our brains are affected by the quality of the interactions we have with other people. The case for a community-based, intellectually challenging education steeped in character development couldn’t be stronger.” Acknowledging that making real progress is hard work, she adds, “Shared excellence, not one-upsmanship, anchors us in our school’s mission and in the most transformative aspects of a Breck education.”
Lower SchooL: teaChinG students to C.a.R.e
When the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE) looked for schools to highlight in their recently published book, Making Our Pact: Lower School Programs for Character Development, they chose just six schools from across the nation. One of them, and the only school in the Midwest, was Breck.
C.A.R.E. Themes 2004-2012
Breck’s C.A.R.E. curriculum is special, says Lower School Counselor Lisa Lokke, because it gives young children “words to explain their own feelings and what they need from each other. And with a common language, children can share what they’ve learned in class, at home, and with their friends.”
The program has five goals:
• Promote the development of strong character in students.
• Bring the community together around common character traits.
• Develop consistency with respect to the teaching of character education skills.
• Provide common language throughout the community.
loweR sChool teaCheRs weRe lookinG FoR ways to addRess the soCial and emotional PaRt oF a BReCk eduCation.
• Empower students with tools to become responsible citizens.
Each month, the Lower School community invites students to participate in lessons and/or activities that promote the development of important character traits. Respect, responsibility and friendship are themes used every year, along with other themes such as honesty, courage, perseverance, joyfulness and dependability.
The program came from the grassroots, Lokke explains, as Lower School teachers were looking for ways to address the social and emotional part of a Breck education. After investigating some “canned” programs, the division came together to design a program that is distinctively Breck.
A key factor is that C.A.R.E. can be adapted to different grade levels, teacher strengths and student learning styles. “We own it,” Lokke points out, “but we all own it in our own way.”
Third-grade teacher Lisa Hunninghake loves the fact that the themes are division-wide. “Specialists, classroom teachers, administration are all on board and integrate the theme into their conversations, teachings, feedback, discipline and everything else,” she observes. “And I have really seen students become more comfortable and capable in their discussions. Their experience in prior grades clearly starts the foundation of knowledge, and the program builds upon itself every year.”
National Recognition
A few months ago, the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE), an organization that commits to nurturing “ethically rigorous and spiritually grounded citizens for tomorrow’s world,” published a book highlighting six schools’ character development programs. Breck is one of the six—and the only one in the Midwest. (The other schools are Isidore Newman (Louisiana), Brentwood (California), Collegiate (Virginia), Peck (New Jersey), and Greensboro Day School (North Carolina).)
The book is titled Making Our Pact: Lower School Programs for Character Development.
In his introduction, CSEE’s Executive Director, David Streight, writes, “Though the programs outlined in this booklet are diverse, they share a deep commonality that, we hope, others will work to emulate.
This commonality entails a set of community norms that all ascribe to: norms informing a school culture that is perpetuated as much by student-to-student transfer as it is by adult-to-student teaching. A moral school culture is not viable until it has buy-in and participation from both adults and students. The results are worth the effort.”
The section on C.A.R.E., written by Lower School Director Peg Bailey and Lower School Counselor Lisa Lokke, describes the program’s genesis and implementation along with methods Breck uses to assess progress.
Continues Streight in his introduction, “Though we do not hold the schools here up as perfection, nor do they, we do look at them as deserving notice, precisely because they have taken intentional steps: they have thought through and focused on goals that are supported and endorsed by the community; they have visions shared by all constituents (faculty, students, trustees, parents); they have managed to weave their visions deeply into the fabric of the school; and they are on-going, dynamic programs constantly open to fine-tuning.”
For example, preschool and kindergarten focus on introducing themes through read-aloud books, circle time discussions, songs and art projects. First and second graders add their own thoughts and writings to C.A.R.E. bulletin boards and journal about their understandings. Third and fourth graders integrate the themes into their core curricular research projects and their everyday lives through work such as researching historical figures who demonstrate strong character traits and demonstrating good character while mentoring younger children.
It’s a subject of great interest to Lower School parents—and prospective parents as well. Says parent Amy Paster, “The strong emphasis on social and emotional development is one of the main reasons we chose Breck for our family. It’s a huge world out there, and I want to be sure our children are
confident and happy and that they know how to give back.”
Paster, who volunteers as a tour ambassador for the Admissions office, observes that families looking at Breck see it as something unique. “People are always impressed when I talk about the way the C.A.R.E. units are woven into the curriculum,” she explains. “The teachers do it so beautifully. And they always send home information so that the family can extend the discussion when our children aren’t at school. It’s such a great bridge between school and home.”
For her part, Paster, the parent of four Breck students, says that it has been wonderful to watch her children grow in their understanding of the themes as they grow. “You can absolutely see the progression,” she remarks. “Sometimes I wonder if people know just how amazing it really is.”
Middle sChool: leaRninG how to Be a mustanG
Breck’s Middle School has also developed its own distinctive program, which is symbolized by the school mascot. Now in its third year, the Be a Mustang curriculum grew out of a bullying prevention program run by Olweus, which is widely used across the country.
Katy Pearson, Middle School counselor, says that adapting the Olweus program was one of her first important tasks when she came to Breck five years ago. “Olweus was fine— it’s tried and true,” she explains. “But we wanted something that celebrated the positive aspects of our community and not one that just focuses on minimizing bullying.”
The result is a program coordinated by Pearson along with a committee of Middle School administrators, teachers and parents, along with a student committee that helps plan events such as “Mix-it-up lunches,” where students are encouraged to talk to people they typically don’t, do special activities and enjoy music,
It’s all done in a developmentally appropriate way, observes Middle School Chaplain Alexis Kent. “Be a Mustang is a fairly structured program, with a significant educational component,” she says. “So, as is often the case with Middle School students, there’s a natural resistance to anything that seems we wanted somethinG that CeleBRated the Positive asPeCts oF ouR Community and not one that Just FoCuses on minimiZinG BullyinG
drama and other forms of entertainment.
There have been student and faculty speakers at Middle School chapels, including a recent one where junior Allison Cole reflected on the way she treated people when she was in Middle School.
What
Does It Mean to
“Be a Mustang”?
too planned and too adult. We work hard to make sure what we’re presenting is a structure or scaffolding that they can take and define for themselves. Because the goal isn’t our progress; it’s theirs!”
Some of the most visible elements of the program are the Be a Mustang t-shirts designed by Thomas Dickstein ’16 (see below) and the mural of community expectations signed by every Middle School student and displayed in the Middle School cafeteria.
Both Pearson and Kent point out that it’s important for
About Those T-Shirts
The Middle School’s Be a Mustang t-shirts, new this school year, began as a contest last school year. And the winning design, by Thomas Dickstein ’16, is now a common sight around Breck. Ironically, however, Thomas himself never got to wear one, as he moved on to Upper School.
Still, he reflects on the experience with pride. “The Be a Mustang program was designed to make students stand up to things they felt were wrong, especially those that bring harm to others. When I designed the Be a Mustang shirt, it was both to have fun designing it and also to help support a cause that I feel strongly about,” Thomas says. As for seeing the shirts in the hallways, he explains, is “not only a true honor for me, but it also shows me the fact that I’ve done something that has the chance to make a difference, no matter how small, in other people’s lives. I hope it inspires others to do the same.”
…and knows when to stand up
the school as a community to spend time defining what it means to treat each other respectfully. “There’s a lot of attention on bullying in middle school-aged kids,” Pearson explains. “And while I would never say it’s a big problem at Breck, I know how important it is for students to understand the importance of concepts such as feeling safe, recognizing aggressive and passive aggressive behaviors, setting personal boundaries and taking ownership over their own actions. Those are such critical skills.”
And both agree that students need the skills in the face of cyber-bullying, so pervasive in modern online culture. “We want to give kids the language to say, ‘You know, what you’re doing isn’t working for me’ to each other—or coming to an adult for help.”
As with the Lower School’s C.A.R.E. program, Be a Mustang has connections in the core curriculum as well. Themes are interwoven into English class discussions over books, for example. When fifth graders read the book Wonder, by R. J. Palacio, they naturally end up talking about the way they— and not just the book’s characters—live together.
Another academic program influenced by the Be a Mustang program is the eighth grade World Savvy project. By encouraging students to think “beyond your borders,” World Savvy requires a concentration on the wider community and beyond their personal concerns.
Says Pearson, “I’m very thankful to work at a school that is so intentional and open to looking at what we do and always thinking about ways we could do it better. Change can be hard, for both students and adults.”
Upper SchooL: BuildinG ChaRaCteR thRouGh seRviCe
In the Upper School, weekly community service is probably the most important aspect of character education, says Chaplain John Bellaimey. He likes to quote former Upper School Director Kevin Michael for his observation, “Chapel is theory, and service is practice.”
Since its inception in 1997, the Wednesday Service Program has sought to give Upper School students the opportunity
to gain perspective on their own lives by learning about others. And between weekly service, May Program service, and required service to the school, graduating seniors have performed at least 200 hours during their time in Upper School—not counting anything they do with their family or church community.
Melissa Soderberg says it strikes her as funny when people
outside Breck speculate about the value of the time the school devotes to service. “The truth,” she points out, “is that we’re asking the whole school to do something that requires huge mental discipline—to step away from other academic activities and spend an hour each week working on an entirely different level and then come back to Breck and re-immerse ourselves. That’s not easy!”
“We’re trying to develop the habit of turning students’ attention away from themselves, understanding our interdependence and putting other people first—even for a little while,” observes Community Service Manager Frederique Schmidt. “It’s so important that students learn that service isn’t just noblesse oblige.”
we’Re tRyinG to develoP the haBit oF tuRninG students’ attention away FRom themselves, undeRstandinG ouR inteRdePendenCe and PuttinG otheR PeoPle FiRst—even FoR a little while.
This year, one advisory is getting a heightened experience and a very special opportunity. After drama instructor Tom Hegg pursued study in an emerging discipline called “Performance and Social Change” during his Breck sabbatical, he was determined to establish such a program at Breck. As a result, his advisory learned techniques from professionals at the Children’s Theatre Company which they’re applying in their work with
Breck Service Curriculum Philosophy
The purpose of service learning is to:
· reduce self-centeredness
· develop the ability to see the world from someone else’s viewpoint
· Experience spiritual and ethical values in action
· Encourage students to recognize the interdependence of all people
· develop a social conscience that inspires action
third-grade students at Lyndale Elementary School in Minneapolis. Essentially, they’re using theater games to help the children find their own voices in an extremely powerful way.
So far, Hegg says, the program has exceeded his expectations. “It’s amazing. They’re not all theater kids in my advisory, but no one’s hiding behind his or her hair. And they’re dealing with so many issues as they work to reach young children from a vast array of circumstances.”
An effective service learning program should:
· include face-to-face meetings with people in need at off-campus sites
· Be linked to the classroom, putting need in context before the project and reflecting on what was learned afterward
· Build ongoing, personal relationships
· Be suited to the developmental stages of the students
One of his advisees, junior Hadley Slocum, describes the experience as “very eye-opening,” After learning the harrowing personal story of one of the children, an immigrant from Somalia, she says, “It’s made me a lot slower to jump to conclusions about people because you just don’t know what they’ve been through.”
Another, senior Amy Yin, an international student from Beijing, observes that she’s already seen profound changes in the students at Lyndale. “It’s hard not to feel bad for them sometimes,” she says, “but we feel really good knowing that we’re helping them find their own voice.”
The group decided to expand the experience by partnering with a third-grade class from Breck. That has been eye-opening as well. Says Hadley, “The students in Ms. Schafer’s room are such fun and so attentive, but their life experiences are so different from the kids at Lyndale. Sometimes I really feel thrown off-guard by what I’ve already learned.”
Upper School students also visit questions of character through the religious studies curriculum and regular chapels. Through their study of world religions, ethics, bioethics, and courses such as Religious Imagery in Film taught by Rob Johnson ’90, they explore themes of redemption, forgiveness and compassion as well as an appreciation for others.
Still, Bellaimey says, “We have to realize that most of the character development that happens in our students comes from their families. As Mr. Salas used to say, we want our Jewish kids to be the best Jews they can be, our Muslim kids the best Muslims, our Episcopalians the best Episcopalians, and so on. We want them to find their own paths, to be sure, and to be responsible for others, but their parents are by far the most influential guides.”
He adds that partnering with parents as they give their adolescent children increasing amounts of responsibility is a very important part of the work Breck does. “Our Honor Code says that we prize ‘scholarship, trust and friendship,’ and so we do our best to embody those virtues” Bellaimey points out. “It’s pretty wonderful when the kids do, too.”
Coming Soon: The Melrose Family Center for Servant Leadership
With the renovated Upper School facility, Breck will debut the Melrose Family Center for Servant Leadership, which will combine Upper School service and multicultural education in new and exciting ways. While plans are still being formulated for the center, Upper School Director Melissa Soderberg says it will focus on “formalizing some of the more subjective pieces of our students’ daily lives by articulating qualities of servant leaders and introducing our students to service and business leaders who wrestle with the challenging ethical questions that face every leader.”
Frederique Schmidt echoes the sentiment. “What’s so appealing about the servant leadership concept is that it’s a way to approach a situation and work toward a common goal. And everyone can get involved. You don’t have to be a president or a team captain or a senior to make an active effort to do what’s best for everyone,” she observes. “And that’s very much what we want to teach. If you’re upset about something—big or small—you should use your dissatisfaction to do something about it.”
Soderberg adds that she expects the center, which is being made possible by a generous donation from the Melrose family, to act as a cross between a resource center, a college student activities center and our hub for service learning in a way that will give Breck students “the tools for success and the ambition to do good work in the world. And that’s what character education is all about.”
