Partnering with America’s Educators to Build an Other People Matter Movement
“I can sum up positive psychology in just three words — Other People Matter. Period. Anything that builds relationships between and among people is going to make you happy.” -Dr. Chris Peterson
The Positivity Project is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to empowering America’s youth to build strong relationships and to understand, appreciate, and exemplify the character strengths in us all. We accomplish this by partnering with schools across the country and equipping educators with the knowledge, resources, and confidence to teach their students positive psychology’s 24 character strengths.
Our vision is to create citizens and leaders who will enhance our communities and country by internalizing the belief that “Other People Matter.” We aim to reach 2,000 schools and 1 million students nationwide by 2022.
These partnerships couldn’t come at a more important time. That’s because, as a whole, America’s youth are trending in the wrong direction in two key areas — narcissism and empathy.
According to academic studies, since the early 1980s narcissism has increased by 30% and empathy has decreased by 40%. These statistics aren’t a generational indictment; they’re an indication of how our values have shifted as a society. That shift is rooted in an increased focus on self and decreased focus on others.
And, while increasing narcissism and decreasing empathy are always a cause for concern, they are even more alarming today. Leading researchers estimate that 47% of U.S. jobs are at “high risk” for being automated within the next 10–20 years, making jobs requiring creative and social intelligence more important than ever.
In today’s rapidly changing world, strengths of character must be intentionally cultivated from an early age. It is critical to ensure that our mental, emotional, and moral capacities grow alongside our advances in technology. The research shows that the best way to develop these character strengths in children — and help them see the strengths in others — is by consistently exposing them to the 24 character strengths vocabulary and concepts.
Rooted in Science: Positive Psychology and Character
Positive psychology is a rigorous academic field that encompasses character strengths, positive relationships, positive experiences, and positive institutions. It is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living — and maintains that what is good in life is as genuine and important as what is bad. While often simplified as “grit” or “self-control,” character is more than individual achievement or a person’s behavior. It is the aggregate of who we are; it’s “what’s inside every one of us.”
Making children aware that every one of them — and every other person — has all 24 character strengths, provides the foundation for genuine self-confidence. More importantly, it helps children better understand why everyone is different and how to appreciate those differences. Unlike our height, weight, or skin color, character is something that can’t be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, understanding and valuing it — especially in other people — requires a framework of consistent reflection and discussion.
School Implementation Strategy
The Positivity Project equips K-8 educators with the knowledge, resources, and confidence to teach their students how to identify, appreciate, and articulate the character strengths in themselves and others. Our model places its primary emphasis on recognizing character in other people and building relationships, as opposed to individual student achievement. This is because decades of research shows that building better relationships and helping others is the most reliable path to living a happy, meaningful, and successful life.
Our model is holistic and grounded in consistency; it incorporates and impacts students, educators, and parents through regular interaction with character strengths vocabulary and concepts.
We begin by leveraging principal leadership to implement The Positivity Project across each school. Principals ensure that each staff member understands their own unique character strengths, the character strengths vocabulary, and the general theories supporting positive psychology. We provide the resources and training to achieve this understanding.
Our strategy includes schools placing Character Strength Word Walls in every room and banners with the Positivity Shield in common areas. This ensures that students are interacting with character strengths vocabulary and concepts throughout the entire school day — whether in the classroom, cafeteria, or at recess — and through means that encourage auditory, visual, and tactile learning.
Although The Positivity Project is a school-wide endeavor, its success is rooted in the consistency of daily classroom instruction.
Every 1–2 weeks, students learn about a new character strength. Teachers use approximately 10 minutes per day to lead a discussion about that week’s strength and how students see it in themselves and others — whether classmates, historical figures, or fictional characters. Students’ understanding of character builds throughout the year, as they are encouraged to leverage and talk about any of the 24 character strengths — not just the strength of the week. And, to reduce teacher prep time, The Positivity Project provides resources, such as weekly PowerPoint slide decks and 1-page “Character Card” overviews, pertaining to each strength.
Finally, The Positivity Project strives to involve parents in the character strength education of their children. By connecting classroom learning to homes, students observe, think about, and apply character strengths in new ways. We work with Partner Schools to develop strategies that engage parents around character through methods such as: information letters, back to school nights, and the daily use of social media.
Measuring our Impact
We firmly believe in the importance of scientifically measuring and analyzing our effectiveness. To accomplish this, we have two PhDs on our Board of Directors who lead our research and analysis. Dr. Tova Walsh, whose research identifies ways of strengthening parent-child relationships and improving child and family wellbeing, is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Kate Kuhlman, a child and adolescent psychologist who studies the impact of childhood experiences on physical and mental health across the lifespan, is a research fellow at UCLA.
The Positivity Project’s model is holistic and so is our impact. We have already measured our effectiveness at our pilot school and found promising trends among students, parents, and teachers. For example:
· 70% of students believe their relationships are better since starting The Positivity Project
· 79% of parents say The Positivity Project has helped their child better appreciate others
· 98% of teachers would recommend The Positivity Project to other schools
Strategy for National Scale
The Positivity Project will impact students across the United States. We will reach children at all socioeconomic levels in urban, suburban, and rural communities, and in public, private, and charter schools.
Creating stronger citizens and leaders who will enhance our communities and country cannot be confined to one demographic.
Our approach calls for The Positivity Project to partner with one or two elementary or middle schools in a region in 2016–17, for a total of 30 schools across 11 states. This limit allows Positivity Project staff to provide the necessary support and guidance throughout the first year. Beginning in 2017–18, we will grow exponentially.
Our strategy is predicated upon teachers, in all types of schools across the country, being inspired to teach the 24 character strengths in their classrooms every day. We firmly believe that teachers are leaders who come to work with the purpose of developing their students into strong members of their community.
That is why teacher autonomy is a prominent element of our approach.
Each school and every classroom is different. Instead of a mandatory pedagogy, we trust the educators on the ground — who know their children the best — to implement The Positivity Project in the most impactful way for their students. Success results from helping teachers master the 24 character strengths language and concepts — and equipping them with resources — so that they are comfortable and confident teaching character every day.
We believe organic growth is the best way to scale. Principal and teacher buy-in are the keys to success. The first Partner School in each area will be the most effective at inspiring new schools to partner with The Positivity Project in 2017–18 and beyond.
Implementation of The Positivity Project around the country will replicate the “hub & spoke” model used in Syracuse public schools. This model starts with a pilot school that serves as proof of concept for other schools in the area.
For example, in Syracuse, Morgan Road Elementary School (MRE) became the first Positivity Project Partner School in 2015–16. Because of MRE’s success and the word-of-mouth generated through local and national publications, face-to-face interactions, and social media, ten additional schools in the Syracuse area will become Partner Schools in 2016–17.
While there are dozens of other character education organizations, The Positivity Project is distinct in numerous ways. Notably, we are more than a curriculum; we have an entire strategy whose aggregate effect can have a lasting impact on students, teachers, parents, and school culture. Like any organization, we have a lot to learn, but the enthusiasm we hear for our approach from principals, counselors, and teachers is telling.
The Positivity Project is thinking big. We know that powerful aspects of the civilizing process, like empathy, are in retreat. Yet, we believe that armed with a deeper understanding of character and an Other People Matter Mindset, together, we will create citizens and leaders who will enhance our communities and country.
“Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
