GoodCharacter April Newsletter

If you cannot see this newsletter, please paste the following link in your browser's navigation bar: http://www.goodcharacter.com/newsletter-april2007.htm

Volume 1, Issue 3 April 2007

Contents

The Daily Dilemma
Theme of the Month
In the News
Featured Web Resources
Character Education Tips
This Month in Education
Newsletter Special - FREE iPod Nano - extended entry deadline

The Daily Dilemma

CHALLENGE YOUR STUDENTS!
Not-so-hypothetical situations from the case files of Charis Denison.

For April...
Archer is facing a classical ethical dilemma: should he lie to his parents in order to receive a reward he's not entitled to, or tell them the truth and give up the reward?
Click here to read the complete dilemma with facilitator notes and discussion questions.

Theme of the Month: Conflict Resolution

Here are some tools to get your students thinking, talking, and writing about what effective conflict resolution means to them.

From GoodCharacter.com
Discussion Guide

Elementary
Think Differently
Conflict Resolution
Peace Games
Are You a Peacemaker or a Man-Eating Shark?

Middle
Conflict Resolution Activities for Middle School / Secondary Students
The Effective Communication Page

High School
The justification for war (PDF)
Conflict Resolution: Mediate, Don't Instigate

Featured Web Resources

Educators for Social Responsibilty is one of the nation's leaders in promoting social and emotional learning, conflict resolution, and violence prevention as a core practice in education. With free registration, visitors to their site can download lots of lesson plans as well as learn about ESR's trainings, programs and teaching resources on social responsibility for all grade levels.
Educators for Social Responsibility

Character Education Tips - Conflict Resolution

Here is a wonderful article about conflict resolution and how it applies to current world events.
Cooling Off Periods

Burgess, Heidi. "Cooling off Periods." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: September 2004

In the News

Here are some examples of character education initiatives throughout the nation and beyond. Use these articles to gather ideas about how to build good character at home, work, and in your community!
Strong Girls Project Helps Girls Learn to Deal With Relational Aggression
Circles stop cycle of crime and time
From peer pressure to peer solutions

This Month in Education

April is National Poetry Month.

Tips for Teachers - The Academy of American Poets' Web site has tons of great resources to help you get started with some poetry in your classroom.

Encourage your students to write a poem on solving problems non-violently, world peace, or the value of opposing opinions.

Please send us your comments, suggestions, character education stories, and any other ideas that you think would be of value in helping us improve our newsletter. E-mail us today at: info@livewiremedia.com.

There may have been some e-mail addresses from our previous unsubscribe list that have found their way into this database, and for that we sincerely apologize. If you have previously requested that we not contact you by e-mail, simply click "unsubscribe" at the bottom of this e-mail. We will make every effort to respect your privacy.

This newsletter is provided as a service to educators by Live Wire Media: Resources for Character Education, Guidance and Lifeskills. © Copyright Elkind+Sweet Communications, Inc. All rights are reserved.

To cancel your subscription, please click on the UNSUBSCRIBE link at the bottom of this message.

Famous Words from Famous People Conflict Resolution
"To observe people in conflict is a necessary part of a child's education. It helps him to understand and accept his own occasional hostilities and to realize that differing opinions need not imply an absence of love." -Milton R. Saperstein "Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude." -William James "Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have...tactics is the art of how to take and how to give." -Saul Alinsky “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” -Martin Luther King, Jr. "In the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love." -Dwight D. Eisenhower "In the hearts of people today there is a deep longing for peace. When the true spirit of peace is thoroughly dominant, it becomes an inner experience with unlimited possibilities. Only when this really happens-- when the spirit of peace awakens and takes possession of men's hearts, can humanity be saved from perishing." -Albert Schweitzer
Great Videos for Teaching Conflict Resolution
	Getting Along with Groark : Groark Learns to Work Out Conflicts Click here for more info.
	You Can Choose! : Resolving Conflicts Click here for more info.
	Big Changes, Big Choices : Preventing Conflicts and Violence Click here for more info.
	Peacetalks: Resolving Conflicts Click here for more info.
	LifeSteps: Getting Along with Others Click here for more info.
Newsletter Special: FREE iPod Nano!

Send us your character education activities and lesson plans to enter into a drawing for an iPod Nano! Click HERE for contest rules and submission guidelines.