"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." – Martin Luther King

Happy New Year!  As the New Year begins, there is much talk about making resolutions.  Parents and teachers have some common goals.  Much like what Martin Luther King wanted for his children, it is an important job to build character in our own children.

Schools and parents can provide an anti-bully environment that prevents using threats and force to get what they want. This environment encourages children not to bully other children and parents not to bully their own children. The first step to building children to have “good” character is to define what that is.  Small children are told to be nice and to be good.  In early childhood, children don’t always know what exactly that means.  Children understand information better when it is broken down for them.

Instead of telling a child to “be nice,” we can show them what that looks like by modeling nice behavior to them and in front of them.  Children are always watching the adults in their lives to get clues on how to act and to figure out how they fit into the world. Like Martin Luther King’s dream, my dream is that my two children will live in a nation where they understand the importance of the content of their character.