At Gordon Cooper Technology Center, Character Counts!

Employers know that character counts.

“Business and industry employers have been telling our instructors that our students graduate with good technical skills, but they want us to bump up soft skills training,” Gordon Cooper Technology Center Workplace Readiness Instructor Rhonda Mize said.

In response, Gordon Cooper Technology Center launched a new Character Counts! project this school year. The training is based on the Six Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship.

“These pillars of good character that were once taught at home are not necessarily taught at home now,” she said. “It’s showing up when young people enter the workforce.”

A lack of character can sometimes be seen in the workplace when one employee persuades another employee to clock in for him or her. Other examples would be pilfering money, supplies, or tools from an employer or rudeness toward customers or co-workers, she said.

Mize and Assessment Specialist Jennifer Loftin attended an intensive three-day workshop last August to prepare them to implement the project. Each Friday during the fall semester, GCTC students participated in assemblies that emphasized one of the Six Pillars of Character.

Mize also started a Character Counts! Student of the Month program to recognize students whose behavior exhibits the Six Pillars of Character. Teachers are emphasizing character building as teachable circumstances arise in the classrooms and they model and reinforce appropriate actions and behaviors. Character Counts! banners and posters are also in place around the school campus.

A Character Counts! Pillar Bucks program encouraged students to model actions and behaviors consistent with the pillars of character. School staff members distributed Pillar Bucks to students they observed modeling good character. At the end of the fall semester, a morning student and an afternoon student who received the most Pillar Bucks were awarded baskets containing movie passes, gift certificates and meal certificates donated by district business and industry partners.

GCTC expanded the effort by sharing Character Counts! with partner schools and community civic organizations.

The Six Pillars of Character reflect universal values that help people make good choices.

The first pillar, Trustworthiness, involves the traits of honesty and reliability, even when the boss isn’t watching. Trustworthiness is necessary for building a good reputation.

Respect, the second pillar, can be summed up in the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Respect involves being considerate of others and dealing peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements. A respectful person is tolerant of different personalities, uses good manners, does not use bad language, and does not threaten, hit or hurt anyone, Mize said.

The third pillar, Responsibility, means to do what you know you are supposed to do. A responsible person perseveres, does his or her best, exercises self control, is self disciplined, thinks about consequences before acting, and is accountable for choices.

Fairness, the fourth pillar, works and plays by the rules. A fair person takes turns and shares, listens to others, does not take advantage of others, and does not shift blame to others.

The fifth pillar, Caring, involves kindness and compassion. A caring person helps people in need, expresses gratitude, and forgives others, she said.

The sixth pillar is Citizenship. A good citizen does his or her part to improve the school, community, and workplace. A good citizen is a good neighbor who is informed, votes, participates in the community, obeys laws and rules, and respects authority, she said.

The Six Pillars of Character may seem obvious, but these core values need to be advocated and modeled in every day life for our society and workplaces to thrive, Mize said.