NW Valley Times

As a summit of hopeful educators convened Friday at Grand Canyon University, they had no idea what the weekend’s national news would bring. But the message of the organizer of the Fostering Thriving Schools and Students Summit Series would become even clearer.

“We are in a super divisive time,” said Emily Farkas, program director of GCU's Canyon Center for Character Education, which created the four-weekend series for K-12 educators. “Character education is needed more than ever.”

One basic explanation of character education is learning to be a better person and teacher who helps inspire the creation of better people. That is vitally important today and starts with young people in schools, where CCCE is building a national movement around character education through GCU College of Education’s network of students, faculty, and partners to promote cultures that encourage human and societal flourishing through virtue formation.

Who better than teachers? That was one of the messages from four speakers who led the first weekend sessions of the summit on Friday and Saturday in Building 71 at GCU.

Canyon Center for Character Education Assistant Director Ashley Betkowski leads an exercise during the CCCE’s Fostering Thriving Schools and Students Summit. Those teachers must be good role models, said Dr. Antonio Cooper, director of curriculum and instruction for Vestavia Hills (Alabama) City School System. Then he showed how not to be a good role model with a photo of the candidates for U.S. president in a debate, “one talking over the other and the other one telling him to shut up.”

For students to overcome examples all around them in a rancorous social media culture, teachers must be vulnerable to build relationships with students.

“It seems like a weak word. We are teachers and feel like we should have all the answers. But we are human, not perfect robots,” he said. “Until you are willing to be vulnerable, (students) will talk about surface stuff. Vulnerability leads to trust.”

Teachers who know their own values and how they were formed is a good start, speakers learned in the summit, which hosted 70 educators from across the country. Cooper urged them to ask: “Who am I?”

In his own life, an absent father who returned later in life taught him not to quit when things get hard; a teacher stressed that he could be whatever he wanted to be in life; and Jeremiah 29:11 gave him a formative quote that he lives by – “For I know I have plans for you ….”

Faculty members from K-12 school districts listen to guest speakers during the Canyon Center for Character Education’s Fostering Thriving Schools and Students Summit.It’s easy to talk about all the problems in the world, he said. “But how can we get more joy in the world?”

One way to create more joy in the educational system is building relationships with students by seeking to understand them—know current pop songs, for example—and other pursuits important to them.

Pima Junior High eighth grade teacher Angela Barney takes part in a breakout session with other teachers and administrators.If you want them to be good people you have to do more than teach curriculum, said Angela Barney, a summit participant and teacher from Pima (Arizona) Junior High School.

“They may not remember what you taught them, but they will remember how you made them feel,” she said.

“There has been such discouragement with society. There is so much technology so I’m just going sit on my phone.” She continued: "You forget to talk to people... Teachers have that obligation."

Others connected with discussing being role models for those values.

Heidi Phelps of Heritage Academy Gateway in Queen Creek said her school was founded on principles of being good people. So when she teaches history she uses historical figures like Ben Franklin as examples—not just what he did but how he did it with character.

Dr. Alicia Hunsberger leads discussions on “Growing in Character” during summits.Also leading discussions were Drs Melinda Bier & Amy Johnson from Missouri's Center For Citizenship And Character Education at University Of Missouri-St Louis while Alicia Hunsberger Principal Of Louis Pizitz Middle School In Vestavia Hills Alabama led breakout sessions starting character educations prioritizing kids over content saying custodians build student relationships too

Hunsberger noted success hard measuring quantitatively often qualitative giving example student returning after transferring back greeted cheerfully eventually writing thank note brightening days

Youngker High School principal Michael Sivertson talks faculty others during breakout session.CCCE working schools Robert D Patricia E Kern Family Foundation grant $2M developing program outreach including Youngker High Buckeye Arizona sharing ideas trust relationship building

Dr Michael Sivertson Youngker principal impressed university leading efforts K12 earning doctorate himself adding hard quantify through stories told creating holistic kind tempering cultural division streak

Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]