“Imagine this. You are about to address thousands of people. It’s minutes before giving your speech. You know that so many people are looking to you to lead them in the Civil Rights Movement.
“Out of these three traits of a leader, which one do you think is the most important during a moment like this: empathy, courage, or passion? Which one is most challenging for you? ...What is the content of your character?”
We ended the week by reading out papers that had been placed by learners in the Character Callouts Box, highlighting "the content of their character." These are character traits that learners noticed about each other and wanted to spotlight. For example, “Leading by example: When others were messing around during Core Skills, he chose to keep working,” “Leadership: He reminded people how to come up the stairs in a way that respects the people we share our building with.”
Seeing the pride on learner’s faces, it was clear that being judged by the content of one’s character is the highest form of respect and an essential part of how learners help each other grow at Acton Academy Lakewood.
