Promoting Optimism

Research has identified three distinct clusters of character strengths: Strengths of Will, Strengths of Heart, and Strengths of Mind. Growth Mindset, Grit, and Optimism are all strengths of will. These strengths are what you might call the “doing” strengths. They help you achieve your goals. Free posters with the character traits are availble free to download at characterlab.org The site also has a Character Growth Card that can be used for teachers and students to assess 8 character strengths. For example:

GRIT

Finished whatever s/he began

Stuck with a project or activity for more than a few weeks

Tried very hard even after experiencing failure

Stayed committed to goals

Kept working hard even when s/he felt like quitting

OPTIMISM

Believed that effort would improve his/her future

When bad things happened, s/he thought about things they could do to

make it better next time

Stayed motivated, even when things didn’t go well

Believed that s/he could improve on things they weren’t good at

This is very similar to the KIPP Character Report Card kippnyc.org/kipp-character/

Our school system uses the MindUp program developed by the Hawn Foundation in Kindergarten through grade 8. The curriculum has a whole unit on "It's All About Attitude" including a lesson on Choosing Optimism and a recommended reading list Mind-Up-Optimism_sm.pdf