Cultivating Character

In today’s innovation-driven economy, students need a different mix of skills than in the past. In addition to foundational skills like literacy and numeracy, they need competencies like collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving, and character qualities like persistence, curiosity, and initiative.

As the world becomes increasingly automated and AI-driven, we must prepare students for jobs that don't yet exist.

Character, or how we approach our changing environment, is key to resilience and success in today's innovative economy. Students need personal traits like integrity, empathy, tolerance, patience, respect, and gratitude to understand more about people outside their immediate environment and discover similarities and differences.

Character / Critical Thinking / Neurodiversity

The relationship between character, critical thinking skills, neurodiversity, and innovation is multifaceted and deeply interconnected. Neurodiversity refers to the variation in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions. The concept of neurodiversity suggests that these variations are not deficits but differences that can contribute positively to society, particularly in the context of innovation.

Neurodiverse individuals often possess unique problem-solving abilities and perspectives that can significantly contribute to innovation. These unique cognitive abilities can lead to innovative thinking and problem-solving when nurtured in an environment that values critical thinking and creativity.

By valuing and nurturing the unique abilities of neurodiverse individuals, we can foster an environment that not only supports these individuals but also drives innovation and success. The key lies in recognizing the strengths that come from thinking differently and creating a culture that celebrates diversity in all its form.

Character up is a module of Pathways & Journeys!

CharacterUp - Identify your Strengths, Engage and Apply

CharacterUp starts with an Upenn assessment of VIA Survey of 24 Character Strengths to determine top strengths, and

We then send out weekly 20-minute prompts of a single character trait, with a short video, definitions, and examples.

After looking for this trait during the week, in classes/books/social media/news, they record at least one image, quote, exemplar, or situation that they want to remember about this trait.

The cultivating Character hub

Periodic Table of Character Elements

https://cultivatingcharacter.org/

WISDOM, Creativity, Curiosity, Love of Learning, Perspective, COURAGE, Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, Enthusiasm, HUMANITY, Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence, JUSTICE, Social Responsibility, Teamwork, Fairness, Leadership, TEMPERANCE, Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, Self-Control, TRANSCENDENCE, Appreciation of Beauty, Gratitude, Optimism, Humor, Spirituality.

An Open Edcuational Resource (OER)

https://cultivatingcharacter.org/

5,000 curated resources -- films, books, lesson plans, podcasts, apps, websites, articles, and games -- that could be sorted by character stregnth, age, and type of person (educator, individual, parent, etc).

About Let it Ripple - People

Our Mission

Let it Ripple is a 501c3 social profit (nonprofit) known for our global art activations, award-winning films, original series, and live and virtual experiences that inspire audiences to think about what it means to be human in today's world.

Our films have won 60 awards, been viewed 50 Million+ times, and play across all platforms -- theatrical, television, and nearly all streaming platforms. Our films and art projects have premiered at MoMA, Sundance, and TED, and have been selected by the US State Department to represent the US at embassies around the world.

Character day

Character Day was a global event that ran annually for 6 years, from 2014-2019.

- a global livestream conversation about character -- the science behind how to develop strengths like grit, gratitude, self-control, curiosity, and creativity -- and why these strengths lead to more meaning, purpose and happiness.

Character Day had over 200,000 groups in 128 countries and all 50 states.

A Declaration of Interdependence demonstrates the vast potential of collaboration in the 21st century. We asked people all over the world to film themselves reading the script in their native language, and to send us the videos. This is the film that unfolded.

CultivatingCharacter

. . . because we are all works in progress

Let It Ripple films . . . what it means to be human today

TIFFANY SCHLAIN

Tiffany Shlain is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestselling book 24/6: Giving up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection, which won the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Book Award. She lectures and performs worldwide on the relationship between technology and humanity. The Museum of Modern Art in New York premiered her one woman “Spoken Cinema” performance Dear Human at the start of 2020. Shlain has received over 80 awards and distinctions for her films and work, including selection for the Albert Einstein Foundation’s initiative Genius:100 Visions for the Future, and inclusion on NPR’s list of Best Commencement Speeches.

SAYWER STEELE

Sawyer Steele is an Emmy-nominated producer, transgender activist, and co-founder of Let it Ripple. He has produced, co-written, voice-over directed, and edited many award-winning films and art activations that have debuted at institutions like Sundance and The Museum of Modern Art New York. He produced and co-wrote the Emmy-nominated original series The Future Starts Here, which includes an episode TransBoom, where he shares his experience being transgender and his thoughts around the past, present, and future of being trans. He and Tiffany, with whom he's been working for 17 years, co-founded Character Day and 50/50 Day, global art activations that engaged millions through film and educational resources.