Feel free to contact our Character Counts! PTO Chair: Lisa Stafford at staffordcom@comcast.net
OR
Central's Coordinator, Pam Kalafut at 570-8580
pkalafut@hinsdale86.org for any questions or comments about Character Counts! at Hinsdale Central.
ASPIRE & INSPIRE CHARACTER COUNTS! RECOGNITION Keynote Speech by Pam Bylsma Hinsdale Central High School April 20, 2011
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” Mahatma Gandhi instructed us long ago. Ever since I first heard those wise words, I have not been able to get them out of my head. You see, the concept sounds simple, and yet it is so challenging to live by. Let me repeat Gandhi’s directive again so you can listen closely to each word. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” That’s right: don’t sit around waiting for a hero to make the world a better place. Don’t complain and whine about what’s wrong with society, your school, or your life. If you notice something in the world that needs a remedy, then roll up your sleeves and get to work fixing it. No one else will do it for you. In fact, it’s possible that no one else even notices that there is something in need of fixing in the first place. But you see it. And because you see it, you have an obligation to do something about it. It becomes your duty, a calling deep within you that won’t be ignored. You must do something, anything, to make a difference. I bet that I am describing all of our Aspire & Inspire Character Recognition recipients this morning. You took notice of some problem, some inequity, something that either needed to be done or undone. You felt compassion – ah, that pillar of caring. Your heart is a big one, of that I am certain. Many people would have stopped there, but not you. You took responsibility, demonstrating that pillar’s attributes of hard work, perseverance, and commitment. You stepped forward and became leaders of character. It isn’t easy being a leader, is it? People might think so, but you know otherwise. It isn’t all glamour and glory. When you worked on whatever project, task, or act you are being recognized for today, I bet it required some sacrifice from you. Perhaps you made complicated decisions and tough choices, worrying when others had the luxury of relaxing. Maybe you had to direct people’s actions or correct them when they didn’t fulfill an expectation rather than treating them like you normally do as a friend or a colleague. At those times, you had to be serious and keep your eye on your goal. Showing moral courage and doing the right thing can set you apart from the crowd. You might not have been prepared for the loneliness at times. While it isn’t easy being a leader, it’s even harder being a good one. An ethical leader treats others with the dignity that the pillar of respect demands of us, taking pains to be supportive and fair. A moral leader understands the pillar of trustworthiness, following through on promises and commitments. That’s why not everyone can be a leader. Yet you have proven that you are a one, a change-agent with character. For being a model of the pillar of citizenship, you have earned the admiration of someone – a co-worker, classmate, teacher, administrator, parent, or community member, inspiring them in the process. I’m quite sure that you didn’t start out working for this recognition. No, you worked for a cause that touched your heart. That’s why the true award is the satisfaction that you feel inside, knowing that you did the right thing for the right reason, and it made a difference in the lives of others. That’s not a ribbon you can pin on for a day or a trophy you can put on a shelf to gather dust. It is a feeling of pride that you will carry with you forever. Even though your true award is on the inside, we can see it on your outside. You walk a bit taller, your stride is more confident and steady, and your words carry a passion and strength in them that keeps growing. Gandhi challenged us to take ownership in our world in order to improve it. I pose three other challenges to you. For the first challenge, I want you to take a moment to think of the people who helped you on your journey to this day. Who was it that saw that special spark in you? Who told you that your ideas had merit? Who made you believe that you could be a leader and stand apart from the crowd? Your challenge is to genuinely thank that person or those people, if it is still at all possible to do so. When I say genuinely thank them, I mean that you stop, look them in their eyes, and tell them what they have done for you. Don’t give them a quick hug or a fast text message. A full, rich genuine thank you, that’s your challenge. You will regret it later if you don’t do this, for a true leader shows gratitude, understanding that it is through others that we ourselves become strong. Here is your second challenge: share your leadership with someone else. Look for someone, who with a little bit of encouragement, could blossom into a leader like you. Be that person who makes them believe in their power to make a difference. It might be the quiet student in class whom you could ask to help you with a project or a co- worker you could ask to teach you a skill they excel at. Your small gesture might help that person to see that they have special gifts to share, too. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you helped someone become a leader, and they were honored at this ceremony in a year or two because of your encouragement? Remember, you have the power to give confidence to others. My challenge to you is to help others to understand that they, just like you, “can be the change they want to see in the world.” Your third challenge is to remain steadfastly a person of character at those moments when it is the most difficult of all. This year’s CC! Student Life Team threw out a bold challenge to us on their t-shirts. “Character Counts! So define yourself!” they commanded us, followed with a suggestion on the back to focus your character development on the human quality of goodness as you craft that definition. Their challenge, seemingly simple, belies the grueling work this will demand of us over our lifetime. The wonderful, purposeful acts you are being recognized for today are one way you have defined yourself, but those are only one dimension of your character. The personal definition you have created for yourselves will be tested most at times when you are confronted with tough ethical choices or when you find yourself out of control in some aspect of your lives. True character is revealed in challenging times when events don’t go your way, when you don’t win the big game, when you fail to get into the college of your dreams, lose an argument you felt passionate about, are in a car accident caused by someone’s negligence, find your home damaged by a natural disaster, fall victim to someone’s unfair or unethical treatment, or experience the pain of exclusion, ridicule, or prejudice. Who will you be at that defining moment? Will the event define you? Will your adversary change our nature? Will you become bitter, vengeful, petty, unforgiving, or apathetic? Or will you hold true to the definition of yourselves that you worked so long and hard to consciously create? Will you be able to ward off two of the main threats to your good character, impulsivity and ego, and instead take the time to consider the implications of your choices through a lens that focuses beyond your own needs and gain? In order to transcend whatever challenge you will face in the future, ask yourself at that moment in time, “Who defines me?” If you answer with a resounding, “I do!” then remind yourself of the values you hold dear and refuse to let them go. I would like to close with another one of my favorite inspirational quotes. This one is by Ray Bradbury from his famous novel Fahrenheit 451. “Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said.A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you’re there. It doesn’t matter what you do, he said, as long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.” To all of you gardeners who are being honored this morning as Aspire & Inspire Character Counts! Recognition recipients, I extend you my deepest congratulations. You accomplished something impressive and hold the potential to do so much more. Remember the four challenges I posed to you today as you move forward into your future: 1. Continue to work hard to improve the world. 2. Show sincere gratitude to the people who noticed your special gifts and had faith in you. 3. Take the extra effort to encourage others to stand up and be leaders, too. 4. Define yourself as a person of character, consciously and consistently, at all times. Thank you for the opportunity to share this treasured morning with you!
Character Counts
Since 2001 Hinsdale Central has been using a common language to talk about issues of character. This language was established by CHARACTER COUNTS!, a nationwide organization sponsored by the Josephson Institute.
Over the years, data from surveys and student behavior referrals confirm what members of the Hinsdale Central school community already know: Character Counts! is making a positive, sustaining difference in the culture of our school! The Six Pillars of Character Counts! are: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. A brochure that explains more about Character Counts! at Hinsdale Central can be found here. The Character Counts! program at Hinsdale Central has achieved national recognition.
We invite you to become involved with the PTO. Join our efforts in a way which best fits your interests and schedule. Simply click here so we can get back in touch with you!
