Essay on What if the Secret To Success is Failure?

Paul Tough discusses his research concerning educators that have attempted to teach grit and self-control in the classroom and other research targeting how children succeed in school. Paul Tough also points out that educators have attempted to put his ideas into practice and use a school-assessment system that relies on certain measurements of students’ non-cognitive abilities (Tough, 2016). Paul Tough also notes that his notion is no small idea, but has been recognized across the country. This is valuable information as it establishes the author’s credibility and appeal to ethos through his personal experience. Paul Tough also does a good job building his argument and establishing credibility by using reputable sources. These sources include Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child and the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (launched in the 1990s by Robert F. Anda, a physician at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Vincent J. Felitti, the founder of the preventive-medicine department at Kaiser Permanente), a study conducted by Nadine Burke Harris (a pediatrician and trauma researcher in San Francisco), Roland G. Fryer Jr. (a celebrated economics professor at Harvard), Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan (two professors at the University of Rochester), as well as other reputable studies and people. Citing these sources increases Paul Tough’s credibility by showing he has done his research to provide the facts and statistics needed to support his

“Can We Teach Character? An Aristotelian Answer” by Edwin M. Hartman is an incredibly well written article on whether, as the title states, character can be taught. I will attempt to critique this article and illustrate points that may have been excluded, but the article is extremely well rounded. The purpose of the article is to determine whether teaching ethics is worth the time taken, whether students will actually act better as a result. Hartman translates Aristotle’s thoughts well, and overall it is a beautiful piece of writing.

Developing character is something that comes with time. I believe that there are three major things that effect how people develop their character—where they are from, which includes their financial status; how they are raised; and the character of the people that  have had the most influence on their lives. Sylvia, in Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson," is very much influenced by all of these factors. Sylvia’s living in the slums and being poor makes her defensive and judgmental. Her parents not being around much leaves her without the attention and discipline that children need to develop to their fullest. Lastly, her friends and Miss Moore also have a great influence on how

Character development is the deliberate effort to nurture the universal attributes upon which schools and communities find consensus. It is a school effort to create students characterized by qualities such as respect, responsibility, fairness, empathy, etc.

Character is defined as what distinguishes one person from another and it is the product of constant striving to make the right choices every day. I identify with this pillar the most because I try really hard to be different from people in my school and neighborhood. For instance, many of my peers choose to do unproductive things, such as playing video games or watching hours of TV for hours on end, rather than doing their homework assignments. This is just a waste of time because we, as students, have a limited amount of time to complete each assignment before going to sleep and returning to school to hand it the assignment. I cannot see myself doing these things, even during my

"Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike." Theodore Roosevelt. Students should demonstrate scholarship, leadership, service, citizenship, and character because of three reasons. One, if students demonstrate these qualities they are more likely to get better grades and get reprimanded less. Another, without these traits, a student would have far less opportunities in the future. Finally, as students grow they will gain much more wisdom if they allow themselves to work on demonstrating these characteristics. Overall, these qualities are very important in the present, and in the future.

Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, takes on a tough topic of figuring out what components enable a child to succeed. Throughout the book he makes several claims that are related to poverty, attachment, and character. We believe all three of these items play a critical role in how children succeed. We will provide evidence to support these claims as well as critique them.

Character is defined as one’s moral qualities. I have very high expectations for my character, and I hold myself to them. Every time a person isn't the nicest to me or someone else, I remind myself not to stoop to their level. I tell myself, “Treat others how you would want to be treated.” I will always treat myself and everyone around me with respect, courtesy, and kindness.

“We want leaders that are tough, resilient, that can think, and out-fight and out-smart the enemy. We want them to be adaptive and agile and flexible. And, we want them not only competent, but we want leaders of character.” (General Mark A. Milley, 2015) Character is not a trait we take for granted and most likely have an attraction for, but honestly never had to define when asked about by our superiors and peers. It is a word most Soldiers desire to have their name attached to it, and yet the standards of its realization remains rather vague when spoken about. When the military say that a Soldiers is someone of good character, we mean that they may have many

The difference between "character" and 'intellect" is that character is based on moral reasoning and conduct whereas intellect is the understanding of moral reasoning and decision making. Being intelligent due to a higher education does not teach people to have strong morals in society. The application of what you learn intellectually to strengthen you character is what is important giving you a good moral standing in society and towards others. In the case study called The Disparity between Intellect and Character, Robert Coles was challenged by a sophomore who brought the realization to the professor of how intellectually people may be extremely smart but their education does not teach them how to be good citizens but depletes the content of their moral character. The difference between “character” and “intellect” is evident in how you apply your morals even though you may have a higher education. The character of a person with morals and scruples, knowing the difference between what is right and wrong is as he indicates "equated with moral conduct". The irony of the question posed by the student to Coles when she says "I've been taking these philosophy courses, and we talk about what's true, what's important and what's good. Well how do you teach people to be good? And she added "What's the point of knowing good, if you don't keep trying to become a good person." The question about character and moral reasoning is more important than the intellect which is

Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, though morality is subjective, in today’s society it is predominantly agreed upon that someone who is of good character has certain qualities that contribute to their decision making, trustworthiness, and intelligence. I previously mentioned prudence, which is the ability to govern oneself by the use of reason to make good judgements that allow you to avoid troublesome situations, which allows one to face the adversities of life while only encountering necessary risks. This is the ultimate show of genuine character, those who can judge for themselves and aren’t afraid to admit their faults, or

“Our educational goal [is] the production of caring, competent, loving, lovable people” . The students found in the schools across the United State are the future of America. They are the doctors, teachers, business people, lawyers and many other roles, that will be out in the workforce in the years to come. What they learn in school will impact them immensely; it is the responsibility of a teacher to give students the best education in order to ensure the common good of the future. It is essential for students to not only learn content matter, but also the skills to enable them to participate in a democracy. Due to standardized testing, the emphasis of education has become on score and rankings rather than learning. A standardized test does not look at the whole student, the scores provided are on a very narrow aspect of education. In the classroom, there are countless ways for teachers to assess the student as a whole person not as just a score. Standardized tests scores should not be the sole criteria for determining a student’s academic achievement.

What is character? Character is something that is hard to explain. It is who we are, the way we act, and the kind of person we truly are and want to be. Character is what you are in the dark. But if character is the kind of person you are when no one is looking, then why does it matter? Character matters because even when we think no one is looking, they are. People are always watching us and the way we behave and many will look to us in admiration and inspiration, so it is our job to constantly be a role model of good character. A couple of ways that we can show our character are through gratitude and respect, but we can also look up to others, such as Benjamin Franklin, as role models for good character.

Defined “Character" at a level of understanding. Good character consists of understanding, caring about, and acting upon core ethical values by to a young child you must learn to simplify to their terms.

Why is character important? Why is it important to be a person of good morals, ethics, and character? Can that make you more productive in life, family, school, business, work, etc. ?