CHARACTER: A product of habits JOSH NORMAN jn@clsb.org.uk

Head of Grade 8 City of London School

International Boys’ Schools Coalition Action Research Program 2014 - Boys & Character Education

Key Findings and Discussion

•  By adopting SYSTEMS OF REMINDERS (priority lists, homework diaries, smartphone prompts, whiteboards, post-its, packing the bag the night before school), the boys experienced a range of positive feelings from finding things “easier,” to feeling “calmer” and, in one case, “more confident.”

•  Others reaped the benefits of improved TIME MANAGEMENT: boys changed work/play habits by going to bed

earlier, delaying gratification (homework first, treat later) and by working with greater efficiency and purpose. •  The communal, empathetic aspect of the SMALL GROUP inspired confidence in the boys to try out the habits.

They started to role-model each other’s behaviour. “Just seeing other people do it,” said Boy B, “it seemed to make them happier so I thought ‘Well I can make myself a lot happier by doing that’.”

•  Boys considered whether their PARENTS helped or hindered their pathway to

becoming more self-managing. Poised to turn teenager, the boys resisted being micromanaged (“Generally when my parents tell me to do a piece of work, I purposely won’t do it.” - Boy K). As well, some struggled in what seemed like a tricky ‘weaning off’ transition towards greater independence.

“If your parents do not let you organize yourself, it is hard to be organized.” (Boy K)

Key Readings

Cox, A. J. (2008). No mind left behind: understanding and fostering executive control - the eight essential brain skills every child needs to thrive. New York: A Perigee Book/Penguin Group. Guare, R., & Dawson, P. (2013). Smart but scattered teens: the "executive skills" program for helping teens reach their potential. New York: Guilford Press. Reichert, M., & Hawley, R. A. (2010). Reaching boys, teaching boys: strategies that work and why. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Stringer, E. T. (2004). Action research in education. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall. Tough, P. (2013) How children succeed: Grit, curiosity and the hidden power of character. London: Random House Books

Further Information The full report of this project and an online copy of this poster are available at http://www.theibsc.org/.

Introduction In my role as Head of Grade 8 (12 – 13 year-olds), I have often been surprised to find intelligent boys unable to adopt some very simple organizational habits which would help them manage their workload. Inspired by Aristotle's idea that “we are what we repeatedly do” and Duckworth's assertion that “habit and character are essentially the same thing,” this project aimed to help boys adopt character-forming habits that steered them away from childish dependencies and put them firmly on the road to independence. Wilson (2006) talks of “learned helplessness,” and argues that “if we do everything for our boys, we disable them.” I wanted the boys in my year group to feel empowered and not to feel defined by their disorganization. I wanted them to realize that through their habits, they had a chance of changing their character.

The Research Question

Can participation in a series of organization workshops help Grade 8 boys become more self- managing?

The Research Action

During five workshops, the boys discussed: •  the efficacy of newly-adopted organizational habits (trialled each week) •  the importance of delaying gratification •  the impact their parents had on their ability to self-manage •  the need to adopt ‘growth’ as opposed to ‘fixed’ mindsets (after Dweck,

2007) Boys self-assessed their executive skills and also set customized rules for themselves, declaring their mission to be self-managing in a personal manifesto.

Data Collection

•  Questionnaires •  Reflection logs •  Group discussion •  Filmed one-to-one interviews

Data Analysis

•  Salient comments were collated from each boy’s written reflections.

•  The boys’ filmed interview commentaries were

mostly typed out, verbatim. •  Major features of the participants’ experiences

were categorised under ‘cover terms’ (after Spradley) to better discern “the issues concerning (the boys), and the relationship between some of those issues” (Stringer, 2004).

Research Context & Participants City of London School is a highly academic boys’ independent day school that provides a vibrant education for over nine hundred 10-18 year-old boys. The fifteen participants who formed my research group were identified in their Grade 7 reports and by their form tutors as being in some way disorganized. One ulterior motive in choosing these boys was my desire to forestall potential problems later on in the term. Could a five-session programme with follow-up interviews help ward off the usual crisis management when parents are called in because their sons are overwhelmed by their workloads?

“I used to take a lot longer to do my homework than I do now. I used to stretch things a lot… but now I have a plan about what I’m going to do so

then I have free time to do whatever I want.”

Conclusions •  Most boys experienced how character is malleable; that it is a product of

their habits, is adopted and sustained.

•  Optimistically, most boys felt a positive shift in their characters. They were wary, however, not to declare magical transformations.

•  Self-management is well worth focussing on at this critical age and stage

and I will certainly be repeating this course next year, encouraging other Year Heads to follow suit.

“I have realized a lot about the way I manage myself on this course. Firstly, it is not who I am and that I can change my disorganized self. I think I’ve got some way to go but I think I’m getting there…. You can’t change your life in a few weeks. However, I think eventually there will be bigger changes.” (Boy F)

“I used to constantly worry about like

‘Have I done that? Do I have any extra homework?’

Now I know what I’ve done, I know what I have to do and

I haven’t not handed in a homework for ages.”

“Because we were in a small group, I felt I could confide in more people and I could trust more people so I thought I might as well have a go at it.”

“I feel like it’s a gradual process. All I need to do is change my attitude.” (Boy I)

“This whole self-managing course has really helped me realize that if you want to get anywhere in life you have to do things for yourself and not just sit back and relax while someone else does something for you.” (Boy J)