Character Matters

Yesterday I made a student cry. This is not a source of pride for me. In fact, it moved me to the point of setting down my things and putting my arms around the student. This, in turn, made them cry harder. The reason? The student felt their character was being questioned.

An action had been misunderstood and instead of being angry, the response was one of concern for hurting the relationships that had been developed. What would happen to the trust and respect that had previously existed if I (and others) thought they had lied and deceived?

This is where Character Matters... Why did they care? What I was asking about had been misinterpreted, so why did it matter? It mattered because when you have Character you are focused on living your values. You operate in a way that is above question. You care about things around you and work to be honest, authentic and true.

In this world, things go wrong. Being willing to stand up, address it, fix it so that it is consistent with what you know to be right. That is Character.

I am proud of my student... And, am still working to not make people cry.