Jan 29, 2004

Focus on Education

“Lifeskills” are the staple of character education at Los Alamitos

By Lisa Marie Gonzales, Ed.D.
Los Alamitos Elementary School Principal
Special to the Times

Character education is not a separate course of study at Los Alamitos Elementary. Rather, the teaching of character is a whole-school effort, both in and out of the classroom. Lifeskills are a collection of 18 traits that develop moral character and civic virtue in our students. The traits are an essential way to promote a more compassionate and responsible student body.

Character education helps to create a positive climate where skills for life are modeled, taught, and practiced in everyday interactions by students, staff, and parents. Lifeskills create a common language for teachers, students, and parents to discuss expectations for learning and life. Two skills are introduced each month of the school year. For example, September’s Lifeskills were friendship and organization.

“We want our students to internalize good character traits,” explains first grade veteran teacher Jan Whitlach, who is one of the teachers who introduced the Lifeskills program at Los Alamitos five years ago. She was introduced to Lifeskills by teachers at Randol Elementary who felt it gave children extended examples of good citizenship and reinforcement to practice compassion, respectfulness, and responsibility. Lifeskills is a program developed by Susan Kovalik of Seattle, Wash. that is used in more than 4,500 schools nationwide to “grow responsible citizens.”

Lifeskills are introduced to students at morning flag salute every other week. Lifeskills are explained to students with examples that bring the desired behaviors to life. For example, fifth grade Lifeskill Captain Kendall Feezor introduced patience as one of the December traits. Her description included how we all need patience while waiting in lines at stores or when our parents sit in their cars in parking lots and in traffic. Her examples helped our school’s 620 kindergarten through fifth graders better understand what it means to be patient. As introduced by fifth grader Kelly Smith at a recent opening, initiative means to do something because it needs to be done. She added, with a smile, “it’s a great Lifeskill to start the New Year.”

Lifeskills work themselves easily into the established academic curriculum. Many bulletin boards highlight student drawings, poems, and sentences about their newly learned Lifeskills. Fourth grade teacher Kristi Carvajal reinforces Lifeskills with her bulletin board that corresponds with the westward movement grade-level theme: Moving Forward with Lifeskills. First grade teacher Jayli Penkert posts pictures that her students draw of themselves to show how they take on the Lifeskills, such as responsibilities they have at home. Second grade teacher Rob Ford prompts his students to write in their journals about effort, like effort they put into their schoolwork and homework.

Each year, a school Lifeskill theme is selected. This year’s theme is “Los Alamitos students are the coolest!” and emphasizes the trait of effort. A parent-child homework project features scoops of ice cream with each child portrayed on an ice cream sundae. The scoop also describes what the child is great at doing because of his or her effort. The theme and scoops of ice cream were then transformed into six huge ice cream cones created on our media center walls.

An extended part of the Los Alamitos Lifeskills program is the key component of service to the school. Unlike many school programs that emphasize community service as isolated service projects, the staff at Los Alamitos sees ongoing service as a process of training students to become good citizens. This year, the Student Council was expanded and regularly meets to reinforce Lifeskills while emphasizing school climate and activities.

New leaders emerged in Lunchtime Conflict Managers, a group of specially trained third, fourth and fifth graders who give up their lunch hour to help students learn to solve their own problems. Fire Drill Captains work with the principal to acknowledge the responsibility taken by students and their teachers during monthly fire drills. Fifth grade Cross-age Tutors assist first graders to improve skills in reading, and Safety Patrol members ensure the safe passage of students to and from school. Cafeteria helpers and table monitors aid the yard duties to help students get their lunches and make sure that all students clean up after themselves before leaving the cafeteria. The students who take on additional responsibilities and provide service are honored for the Lifeskills they use to do their work.

Staff members reinforce the use of Lifeskills when students show good behavior and attitudes. Students are often rewarded with “paws” that can be collected and used to earn lunch with the principal, ice cream for a friend, or be entered into drawings for prizes each Friday. Each “paw” identifies which Lifeskill the student used in making a decision, helping a friend, or being of service to fellow students.

Lifeskills are not just used with students. The Los Alamitos staff believes that when adults model caring and community-building, students will respond in kind. Staff members give out Lifeskills at monthly staff meetings in an attempt to reinforce the extra efforts made by their colleagues. It comes as no surprise that the staff unequivocally characterizes Los Alamitos as a supportive, compassionate, and invigorating work environment.

Character education had made Los Alamitos a place students love to attend. It also helps to teach the skills beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic—the characteristics of just being a good person. As one second grader wrote in his journal, “Kids are respectful and do good deeds. I love Los Alamitos.”