Yes, I know it’s been a while, but I was taking two classes this summer. I’m working toward my secondary English certification, and wow, I forgot just how hard college classes can be! But go me, I got an A and an A-! Anyhow, classes are over and I’m into a sort of routine for back to school, so hopeufully that means I can start blogging again.
Character is like a tree and reputation is like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. Abraham Lincoln
My students are having a hard time with character and reputation. All they really care about is their “rep.” What matters to them is how they are perceived by their peers. They really don’t get the fact that character counts, and who you are as a person and how you act really does matter. Reputation is formed based upon your character, and it’s up to us to make the choices that develop a good character and allow us to have a good reputation. I asked them the other day “In a hundred years, how do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered as a person who hung out and didn’t go to classes, or do you want to be remembered as a good person who does good things?” Most of them wanted to be remembered as good people, but they struggle with making the connection between how they act and how they are perceived. It’s a struggle, but it’s worth it, and hopefully they’ll figure it out!
