Teachers — One journal for each student, one classroom.
Order a class set and begin. The teacher launch guide is included.
Character education, K through 8
The Power to Choose
"I've Got the Power" takes the first twenty minutes of each school day and makes them the lesson. A full character curriculum, one school day at a time.
I've Got the Power — Daily Page
Gratitudes
- _____________
- _____________
- _____________
Good things for others
- _____________
- _____________
- _____________
Goals today
- _____________
- _____________
- _____________
Long-term goal
- _____________
The journal is only the beginning of the journey.
The path leads to an innovative and intrinsically motivating character curriculum. The daily practice, a weekly character lesson, the classroom agreements, speaking and listening lessons, and the posters for your walls. Five parts, built together in one classroom over twenty-four years, not assembled from different vendors. It arrives working.
Ten lines. Twenty minutes. Every school day.
- 3 — Gratitudes. Three things they are thankful for. Written in their own words, before the school day starts.
- 3 — Good things for others. Not a kindness poster on the wall. Sincere goodwill for others, written down with intention.
- 3 — Goals today. Small enough to finish by the end of the day. Accomplishing it today is what makes tomorrow's goal achievable. The momentum builds.
- 1 — Long-term goal. The one that keeps going. Rewritten every single day and worked on until it is achieved.
The child writes it. Not a worksheet. Not a video module. Not a click-through the teacher plays on the projector while the class watches. Their own handwriting, their own words, every day.
The teacher can write it too. Writing it and sharing with students can forge an impactful and memorable bond.
Repetition is the point. A habit practiced one hundred and eighty school days is not a lesson anymore. It is a consistent practice that stays with you for life.
Day one, before anything else
The class writes the Anchor Agreements. Then the class says them out loud.
On the first day of school the children write what they expect of each other. The class names the categories together, everyone signs, and the signed Agreements stay on the wall all year. Not handed down. Written and signed by the room they govern.
Rewards measure compliance. They do not build character.
A former student figured the whole system out. He acted up on purpose so he could earn his way back into good standing and collect again. Then he started selling his tokens to other students.
He was not the problem. He was smarter than the system. The adults were the ones being trained.
Who this is for
Districts — School site and district adoption.
Character education that aligns with school climate goals, with a pilot structure and a data plan built in.
Families — Homeschool and at home.
Twenty minutes at the kitchen table. The partner asking the question can be a sibling, a parent, or a grandparent.
The first print run
Be first when the journals ship.
Get the free daily page to try with your class, the classroom launch guide, and the date the first print run lands.