Monday, February 4, 2008

Instilling Character In Students Who Learn Differently

If we're truly aiming for character change rather than simply "doing a character ed program," we must realize that not all students are best motivated and instructed by the techniques that motivate and instruct us as teachers. Although your initial response may be "duh!", I urge you to keep reading. We all acknowledge differences in learning styles, yet it's not easy to apply this fact to our lessons.

In a Master's Level class filled with future teachers, the professor handed out an evaluation to help them identify their learning styles. The result? Almost all of these future teachers had the same learning style! That's frightening! Have we developed an education system that rewards and thus appeals to only one learning style? If so, we're completely missing our students who learn differently, subtly telling them that they're dumb and will not likely succeed in life.
We're so comfortable teaching in ways that motivate us as teachers that we completely miss students who are motivated in different ways. Here are some practical hints to reach those students who think differently:

1. Use a variety of delivery techniques to appeal to a variety of learning styles, whether they be auditory learners (e.g., lecture), visual learners (e.g., video clips), or activity learners (e.g., learning activities and interaction).

2. Appeal to the variety of subcultures in your class. Just try to inspire a kid who's into hard core or alternative music with an illustration of Brittany Spears' work ethic. They want to be the opposite of what Brittany Spears represents. Likewise, a list of all white successes may alienate your afro-Americans and hispanics. Find their heroes and motivate through their stories. (Let us know what stories we should develop.)

3. Understand how ingrained attitudes impact receptivity. When I asked a student if he'd checked up on his emotionally hurting friend, the former replied, "No. I'm not a girl!" In his mind, showing compassion is a feminine trait. Until that thinking is effectively challenged, there's no way he'll want to become compassionate. He may need illustrations of Marines or Navy Seals showing compassion and shedding tears. Once he realizes that the toughest of the tough can empathize, a crack may appear in his chauvinistic paradigm.

4. Understand how learning disabilities impact certain character qualities. I'm naturally disciplined. I came home every day from school and did my homework. Nobody had to tell me to do it. My parents didn't train me to do it. I just did it.

All through life I've been rewarded for a quality that I apparently had little to do with acquiring. Does that strike you as odd? What then of the student who isn't naturally motivated to do his homework? Our society labels him as lazy, a potential loser who needs to take responsibility for his life. Yet, all of the traditional methods of motivating him (from rewards to punishments, from verbal encouragement to "setting him straight," challenging stories of people who became great through extraordinary discipline) may be of no avail.

This is more than an abstract issue for me. One of my sons has attention deficit disorder. He's bright. He was reading C.S. Lewis in the first grade. Yet, he flunked "Photography" in high school. His achievement tests show that he's learned a lot in school. In every area he's in the top half of his class, in verbal areas probably the top 10% or even 5%. Yet, he's toward the bottom of his class in grades.

If current A.D.D. research is correct, many such students have processing problems in the executive part of their brains. The part of my brain that told me, "Go home and do your homework, then reward yourself with some free time," doesn't work for many A.D.D. kids. When their brains have to decide between homework and a video game, the video game wins out every time. They sincerely expect that they'll get to their homework later. Yet, it often doesn't happen because of their inability to comprehend the limitations of time, their inability to organize their lives and the inability of their brains to overrule the short term thrill (video game) in favor of a longer term thrill (good grades at school, better college, better job, etc.)

How do we motivate A.D.D. kids to develop qualities such as endurance? One time, when my A.D.D. child couldn't seem to buckle down to do his 30 minutes of 5th grade homework, I tried to motivate by challenging him, "When I was in college, I had an exceptionally tough time learning Greek, so I spent three hours per day studying Greek.

I know you don't want to do your homework, but it's just 30 minutes. If I could spend 3 hours on one subject, surely you can do thirty minutes." While I was basking in the power of my little speech, my child responded, "Nothing personal dad, but that doesn't help." I hope I didn't show it, but inside I got mad. I thought, "how can he not be motivated by illustrations that show success coming from diligence?" Yet, I appreciated his candor and have often reflected on that comment. I was always motivated by the story of the football player who put himself through such a rigorous off-season training program that when the team's practice resumed, it was almost a vacation. Stories of great endurance inspired me.

One of my college buddies told me that the illustrations that motivated me discouraged him. Other's aren't motivated by the same things that motivate us. So how do we motivate people who don't respond to the same motivational factors?

5. Challenge to action in a variety of ways that may work for different people. Don't drop the motivating illustrations. They successfully motivate people like me to new levels of productivity. Yet, remember that some of your students respond by thinking, "These illustrations just reinforce to me that I'm a failure, since I can't seem to motivate myself to do anything."
Remind your students that not everyone has the self-discipline to stay at a task until its completed.

Leonardo da Vinci accomplished some great things, but seemed to have an incredible problem with completing anything, unless he had someone over him pushing him to complete it. Some people are very self-motivated and will make wonderful individual entrepreneurs. Others need to work with a team, or under a positive authority structure to see their gifts bloom. Some can make out personal schedules with goals and dates. Others will have no clue as to what day it is, but will rock the world with their creative genius. In other words, endurance can look different when applied by students with various personalities and learning types.

6. Don't alienate poor students from the classroom culture.
A recently published longitudinal study of adolescents with ADHD(1) found that these students are at a much higher risk for drug abuse than other students. Researchers surmised that since ADHD students feel alienated from the academic culture, they gravitate toward fringe groups that are more likely to include drug abusers. This theory jives with my personal observations. Those who feel they can't please their teachers are more comfortable with those who accept them regardless of their GPA.

How can we reward the "good" students while not demeaning "poor" students? "Reward effort more than grades," you say. That's a start, but what of those who's lack of effort is due more to neurological factors than a personal choice to be lazy? Perhaps a little effort by an ADHD student can equal a grand effort by a natural high achiever. Other ideas?

Only by taking into account the wide variety of learning styles, personalities and disabilities can we hope to motivate all our students to pursue character.

(This article is a study in progress. I plan to read several authoritative books in this area and expand this article accordingly. I'm starting with three books by Mel Levine: A Mind at a Time, The Myth of Laziness and Keeping Ahead at School. If you have other recommended books, please let me know. I'm at webmaster@character-education.info - Steve Miller)

Journal of Abnormal Psychology [Molina & Pelham (2003). Childhood predictors of adolescent substance use in a longitudinal study of children with ADHD, 112, 497-507]

Making the Most of "Teachable Moments"

Excerpted from: CHILDREN OF CHARACTER: Leading Your Children to Ethical Choices in Everyday Life. Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, Ph.D. Santa Monica,CA: Canter & Associates 1997

by Steven Carr Reuben, Ph.D.

One of the most important skills to nurture as a parent, is the ability to recognize and capitalize on "teachable moments" in everyday life. A teachable moment can happen almost anywhere - in the supermarket, when picking your child up from school, when walking through a shopping mall or setting the table for dinner. Chances are that many of the valuable moral lessons that you learned from your parents as a child were not consciously taught at all. They were rather learned in the midst of casual moments of real life, just as our children's real lessons come from being, living and interacting with us in a hundred different ways we could never predict in advance.

This is why an important key to teaching children ethical behavior is learning to recognize teachable moments through which your children can develop the habit of being aware of ethical challenges. For example, when you are checking out at the supermarket, and the checker inadvertently gives you too much change, or fails to charge you for an item in your cart, that is a teachable moment. As your child watches you point out the mistake or return the change, he or she learns in the most powerful way possible about honesty, integrity, good citizenship and being part of a society.

One of the most common teachable moments happens every time you drive your car with your kids inside. Think of all the lessons they are learning about life and being part the social fabric of the community just by riding in your car. You put on your seat belt, and they learn about personal responsibility and self-respect (after all, you care enough about yourself to protect your body); you let someone in to your lane on the freeway, and they learn about mutual respect for others and doing your part to help society run smoothly; you put money in the meter, stop at the stop sign and obey traffic rules and they learn about good citizenship. And imagine the lesson in caring behavior and ethics they might learn if they saw you putting money in a stranger's parking meter so that they don't get a ticket!

Home, school, work and play are all fertile ground for discovering teachable moments. If you arrive to pick up your child from school and you see a classmate's parents are late in coming, waiting with that child to be sure he or she is OK will teach your child the value of friendship, the importance of social responsibility. Of course one of the best ways to do that is to take your child along as you bring clothes to a homeless shelter, donate food to a foodbank or volunteer for community charity event. Even participating in walking precincts or making phone calls for political candidates will teach them a valuable lesson about citizenship and the importance of being part of the political process.

Finally, here are six keys to recognizing teachable moments:
  • Recognize that your children often learn moral lessons unconsciously, in casual moments.
  • Be aware of situations that represent moral choices.
  • Talk with your children about the ethical challenges represented in everyday situations, the media and popular culture.
  • Praise your children for their ethical choices.
  • Point out ethical behavior in others.
  • Let your children see your own thought processes regarding ethical decisions.

About the Author
Dr. Steven Carr Reuben is the author of CHILDREN OF CHARACTER - Leading Your Children to Ethical Choices in Everyday Life (Santa Monica, CA: Canter & Associates (800-733-1711), 1997). Dr. Reuben can be reached at 16019 Sunset Blvd. Pacific Palisades, Ca. 90272. Phone: (310) 459-2328, Fax: (310) 573-9018, or by e-mail at rebreuben@rebreuben.com

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Pelajaran dari 'Kantin Kejujuran'

Seorang siswa SMAN I Ciparay, Kabupaten Bandung mengambil makanan kecil yang tersusun rapi di salah satu kios yang berada dalam deretan kios yang disekat-sekat oleh gerobak dan meja. Kios itu berada paling kiri. Di dalamnya terlihat sebuah meja yang di atasnya terhampar berbagai makanan ringan dan minuman. Di meja itu pula, terdapat sebuah wadah yang terbuat dari plastik berisikan uang recehan, dan ribuan.

Meja itu berada di kios yang hanya berukuran 2 x 3 meter persegi. Kios kecil inilah yang kemudian menjadi dasar penamaan seluruh kios dalam kantin yang berada di areal seluas 20 x 3 meter persegi yang ada di bagian belakang SMAN I Ciparay, Kabupaten Bandung ini. Seluruh area itu diberi nama Kantin Kejujuran.

Sebelum makanan kecil itu ia santap, selembar uang Rp 1.000, tak lupa ia masukkan ke dalam wadah plastik yang telah disediakan. Makanan kecil itu harganya Rp 500. Tangan sang siswa itu pun mengambil recehan senilai Rp 500 dari dalam wadah plastik itu sebagai kembalian.
Tak ada penjaga di kios itu. Semua barang ditata dengan apik, dilengkapi keterangan harga di atasnya. Wadah plastik berisi tumpukan uang dibiarkan terbuka tanpa ditutup. ''Meski tak ada yang menjaga sampai sekarang tidak pernah ada masalah,'' ujar Kepala SMAN I Ciparay, Kabupaten Bandung, Aa Sudaya.

Bahkan, kata Aa, terkadang terdapat selisih lebih antara jumlah barang yang terjual dan perolehan uang dari hasil jualan di Kantin Kejujuran ini. Mungkin, kata dia, siswa lupa mengambil kembalian dari wadah plastik yang telah disediakan. Yang pasti, kata Aa, kejujuran sudah mulai berjalan di Kantin Kejujuran ini.

Meski tak ada yang menjadikannya berbeda dengan kantin-kantin yang lain, kantin ini dipercaya dapat memerangi korupsi hingga tuntas. Benarkah? ''Kantin Kejujuran adalah sebuah upaya untuk membangun kejujuran mulai dari usia dini,'' ujar Direktur Pendidikan dan Pelayanan Masyarakat Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK), Eko Soesanto.

Untuk membangun kejujuran di kalangan para siswa, Kantin Kejujuran pun menyediakan layanan self service, artinya pembeli melayani diri sendiri. Pembeli tinggal memilih barang yang akan dibeli, lalu meninggalkan uang sesuai dengan harga barang yang dibelinya itu di wadah yang disediakan. Kalau perlu ada kembalian, si pembeli tinggal mengambil sendiri kembaliannya di wadah tersebut.

Dengan melatih kejujuran para siswa, meski hanya melalui sebuah kantin, Eko merasa yakin, upaya pemberantasan korupsi di Indonesia akan sangat terbantu. Dia menilai penanaman kejujuran lewat kantin ini merupakan langkah penting dalam pemberantasan korupsi. Kalau upaya seperti ini gagal, Eko yakin korupsi tak akan pernah bisa mati.

''Sama seperti kantin ini. Saya yakin, kalau siswa tidak jujur, dalam tiga bulan, kantin ini akan bangkrut,'' ujar Eko. Menurut dia, kejujuran erat sekali kaitannya dengan upaya menghapus. Siswa, kata dia, dalam perjalanan hidupnya, pasti memiliki kesempatan untuk 'mencuri', dalam konteks yang luas. Mereka bisa punya kesempatan untuk mencuri barang atau uang, serta memanfaatkan kewenangan untuk kepentingan pribadi.

Menurut dia, dari hal-hal yang kecil seperti ini, korupsi bisa ditekan, bahkan dihapuskan. Jika siswa lebih memilih jujur, dan tidak mencuri, maka akan ada generasi di mana tidak ada satupun niat dan kesempatan yang akan membuahkan tindakan korup.

Hal ini berbeda dengan kondisi Indonesia saat ini. Dari hasil survei Transparency International pada 2006, Indonesia menempati peringkat ketujuh sebagai negara terkorup dari 159 negara di dunia. Sedangkan pada 2005, Indonesia telah dinyatakan sebagai rajanya korupsi di benua Asia.
Ironisnya, ujar Eko, Indonesia merupakan negara yang agamis. Sedikitnya, kata dia, terdapat 622 ribu masjid dan mushala yang berdiri dari Sabang sampai Merauke. Tapi, moralitas sebagian masyarakatnya, masih kurang kuat menahan godaan untuk melakukan tindakan korup. Dengan begitu parahnya kebiasaan korupsi, tempat-tempat ibadah pun menjadi tidak cukup kuat menjadi benteng penegakkan moral.

Berbagai ceramah, wejangan lewat tafsir-tafsir ayat-ayat suci, telah disampaikan secara lengkap. Tapi, hal ini tetap tak mampu menghilangkan kesempatan dan niat untuk berkorupsi. Karena itulah, dia pun menilai pelatihan untuk jujur yang dijalankan terus-menerus secara serius menjadi penting. ''Kalau kejujuran sudah tertanam, mungkin hasilnya akan lebih baik,'' tutur dia.
Kantin Kejujuran ini diresmikan pada Selasa (15/1) lalu. Secara simbolik, peresmiannya dilakukan di SMAN I Ciparay Kabupaten Bandung. Tak hanya SMAN I Ciparay yang punya Kantin Kejujurab. Delapan SMA, lima Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK), dan empat Madrasah Aliyah (MA) se-Kabupaten Bandung, juga turut mendirikan Kantin Kejujuran ini.

Untuk mendorong berkembangnya Kantin Kejujuran, Pemkab Bandung memberikan bantuan sebesar Rp 2,5 juta per sekolah. ''Mungkin, dari awal inilah, kejujuran akan menjadi budaya masyarakat Kabupaten Bandung,'' kata Bupati Bandung, Obar Sobarna.

Obar mengaku sedih dengan posisi Indonesia pada peringkat teratas di Asia sebagai negara paling korup. Menurut dia, peringkat seperti ini bukan harus menjadi kebanggaan, melainkan harus diubah menjadi terbalik.

Obar menilai pendirian kantin-kantin tersebut di 18 sekolah lanjutan tingkat atas ini merupakan sebuah langkah awal untuk menghilangkan korupsi di Kabupaten Bandung. Langkah selanjutnya, kata dia, adalah pendirian kantin-kantin serupa di berbagai perkantoran pemerintah dan swasta yang ada di Kabupaten Bandung. ''Ironis kalau anak-anak diajak jujur, sedangkan orang tua tidak jujur. Kapan bangsa ini akan benar,'' ujar dia.

Melatih Menjauhi Darmaji

Tanggung jawab, disiplin dan kejujuran sebenarnya merupakan materi non formal yang teah diajarkan di SMAN I Ciparay. Bahkan, format kantin yang menyerupai Kantin Kejujuran, sebenarnya sudah dimanfaatkan sejak jauh-jauh hari di sekolah tersebut.

Sebuah warung kecil yang berada di belakang masjid di sekolah itu selalu dibiarkan tanpa dijaga. Sampai saat ini, kata Kepala Sekolah SMAN I Ciparay, Aa Hudaya, tidak pernah ada kejadian pencurian di warung tersebut. ''Jadi, adanya Kantin Kejujuran ini akan menambah pembelajaran siswa akan arti pentingnya kejujuran,'' tutur dia.

Aa percaya, semakin intensif pembelajaran kejujuran bagi siswa diberikan, maka investasi moral yang tertanam akan semakin tinggi. Dampak dari upaya tersebut diyakininya bisa sampai ke lingkungan keluarga hingga lingkungan masyarakat terdekat siswa. Jika hal ini terjadi, Aa percaya, korupsi akan hilang di negeri ini.

Bagi Imas Masitoh, siswi kelas 11 IPA 4 sekolah tersebut, Kantin Kejujuran, merupakan kantin milik bersama. Imas dengan beberapa rekannya pun terlibat untuk mengelola kantin ini. Setiap pagi, Imas mengangkut barang-barang yang akan dijual. Setelah itu ditatanya barang dagangan itu dengan rapi agar menarik pembeli.

Setiap jam istirahat, pada pukul 10.00 WIB, Imas dan rekan-rekannya pun suka jajan di kantin yang dikelolanya ini. Selain untuk meningkatkan penjualan, Imas sekalian memantau barang-barang yang terjual. Pukul 14.00 WIB, saat jam sekolah berakhir, Imas dan rekan-rekannya membereskan barang dagangan sekaligus menghitung perolehan uang dari hasil jualannya.
''Kami hanya menghitungnya sesuai atau tidak dengan jumlah barang yang terjual. Nanti, uangnya diserahkan ke Ibu Emi (guru ekonomi yang mengelola kantin kejujuran,red),''ujar dia. Imas mengaku tidak pernah mendapati nilai uang hasil penjualan lebih kecil dibanding jumlah barang yang terjual. Selisihnya, kata dia, bisa mencapai Rp 17 ribu dalam sehari.

Dia mengungkapkan bahwa keterlibatannya dalam mengelola kantin tersebut tidak sampai mengganggu aktivitasnya dalam menuntut ilmu. Imas malah merasa keterlibatannya ini memberi nilai tamba yang berarti. ''Saya jadi dapat ilmu tambahan, khususnya soal manajemen,'' ungkap Imas.

Meski kantin kejujuran tidak dijaga, murid kelas 10 (setingkat kelas 1 SMA) di sekolak itu mengaku tidak berani untuk darmaji (dahar lima ngaku hiji/makan lima mengaku cuma satu). Dia menganggap perilaku seperti itu sebagai sesuatu yang menakutkan. Meski tidak ada yang jaga, dia yakin Allah pasti melihat setiap perbuatan hamba-Nya.

Deny pun mengaku tidak pernah tergoda untuk mengambil uang kembalian lebih dari wadah plastik tempat uang. Kalaupun tidak ada uang receh untuk kembalian, Deny lebih memilih membeli barang yang bernilai sama dengan uang kembalian tersebut.

Bahkan, kata dia, sering juga dirinya malah melupakan uang kembalian itu. Dia berharap uang kembalian yang tidak diambilnya itu bisa menjadi amal baik. Dengan berbagai kondisi tersebut dia pun mengaku sering jajan di Kantin Kejujuran ini.
 

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