AMES | Character Education

Respectful Ways

AMES Character Education

AMES is launching a school-wide character education and life skills curriculum called Respectful Ways, taught by your student’s Homeroom teacher every Tuesday. The Respectful Ways curriculum provides research-based, engaging courses and classroom resources. Students will learn life skills for today's world through teacher-led, digital activities that positively affect their academics and school attendance. Respectful Ways has also been proven to boost emotional intelligence and overall well-being.

Character education can help students develop the ideal characteristics of a future Utah graduate. Our State Office of Education’s Portrait of a Graduate identifies the ideal characteristics of a Utah graduate after going through the K-12 system. These characteristics include critical thinking and problem solving, wellness, collaboration and teamwork, hard work and resilience, communication, integrity and responsibility, and respect. While development of these characteristics begins at home, they are further cultivated through character and life skills education programming at AMES.

AMES is introducing school-wide character education to reinforce and teach positive and adaptive life skills. These skills are needed for students to set and achieve goals, collaborate with others, communicate effectively, and manage stress—all critical aspects of academic learning and long-term success in life. Research has proven that providing character and life skills education in the school setting improves academic performance and positive classroom behaviors, while reducing conduct problems and emotional distress. Students are also more likely to graduate from high school, obtain stable employment, and be prepared for the expectations of adult life.

CONSENT FORMS FOR COURSE PARTICIPATION

CHARACTER EDUCATION COURSES

AMES has selected eight Respectful Ways courses for the current school year that are paired with our 8 Keys of Excellence.

SEPTEMBER

Do the Right Thing

Key of Excellence: Integrity

Students learn to respect themselves and others while developing strong decision-making abilities, which are crucial when faced with difficult situations. They discover the importance of making wise choices and building integrity in all areas of their lives. Safety and personal wellbeing are stressed through teaching students about their conscience.

OCTOBER

Retrain Your Brain

Key of Excellence: Failure Leads to Success

Students learn resilient attitudes and behaviors to help cope with challenging life situations. Activities directly address anxieties and mindfulness practices. Students explore how to navigate worry and anxiety, prevent negative thinking, and practice creative problem solving. Negativity can be a significant barrier to academic achievement, while retraining the brain to think positively can be a catalyst for success.

NOVEMBER

I Use Respectful Language

Key of Excellence: Speak with Good Purpose

Students practice using respectful language and active listening, and explore how respectful speech starts with respectful listening. Students learn to use their creativity in addressing two common sources of disrespectful speech – media and familiar interactions with friends. Students reflect critically on the words they use and how those words affect themselves and others.

DECEMBER

Your Life Is Not Defined by a Moment in Time

Key of Excellence: This Is It

Students explore ways to avoid defining themselves based on their past and their present. This involves mental discipline to help cope with challenging life situations and to imagine future potential. Students set goals to make these dreams a reality and prevent making excuses. The course emphasizes that a person’s past should not define their future.

JANUARY

Healthy & Whole

Key of Excellence: Commitment

Understanding mental and physical health is vital for a student’s future well-being. Students explore the health effects of the foods and beverages they consume and how to make informed dietary decisions in the future. Through examining nutrition labels, students learn to make healthy dietary decisions. This course also helps students understand the adverse health effects of addictive substances. Additionally, students create public service marketing campaigns that highlight the risks associated with vaping and smoking.

FEBRUARY

Empathy vs. Ego

Key of Excellence: Ownership

Students learn to build resilient attitudes and behaviors. They explore how to navigate anxiety, stop negative thinking before it overtakes them, and practice creative problem solving. This module helps students understand how labeling others affects their ability to empathize. The course encourages students to set aside their egos and use their conscience as a compass to experience empathy and compassion for others.

MARCH

It’s OK to Feel Uncomfortable

Keys of Excellence: Flexibility

Students learn about the Theory of Multiple Intelligences and discover how to step outside their comfort zones and try new things. Students learn about the complexities of their emotions, how to recognize them, work through them, and release them in healthy ways. They also learn about how to build resiliency and work towards their full potential.

APRIL

Forgive So You Can Live

Keys of Excellence: Balance

Students learn about emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and how forgiveness can free them to live their best lives. Scientific evidence demonstrates that holding on to grievances can contribute to diminished academic performance, heart disease, and depression. Forgiveness can reverse adverse physical and mental health issues, as well as help restore relationships. Students examine their pasts, assess the costs of holding on to anger, and consider what forgiveness can do for them.

HOME CONNECTS

Respectful Ways created Home Connects to reinforce family and caregiver investments in the character and social skill development of students. These resources are available in both English and Spanish (and soon other languages such as Arabic and Pashto). Home Connects materials further enrich the experiences of our students and their families/caregivers.

Questions or Concerns?

Contact Brett Wilson, AMES Principal, at 801-278-9460 or email bwilson@ames-slc.org.