Welcome to Character First

Julia is the Director of Education Research at the Clayton Christensen Institute. Her work aims to educate policymakers and community leaders on the power of disruptive innovation in the K-12 and higher education spheres. Learn more about the importance of networks and connecting children with each other, and be sure to check out her new book, "Who You Know: Unlocking Innovations That Expand Students' Networks" https://amzn.to/2RIqwOk.

Many parents are concerned about their children's video game habits, but what do we actually know about it? Do we really understand it from their POV? Guest host Jason Schofield talks gaming with three teens, including one who games 40 hours a week... while playing three varsity sports and maintaining a 4.0! Hear them discuss the role that gaming plays in their lives, in their own words, which many of us just don't get from our own children.

Scarlett Lewis lost her son Jesse in the tragic shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT in December of 2012. Since that day, Scarlett has been focused on reducing school violence by promoting social and emotional learning (SEL), with a focus on inclusion via the core values of courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion. The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement includes a variety of programs to support SEL in schools, at home, and soon, in the workforce as well. These programs have already positively impacted hundreds of thousands of students and their families throughout the country, with scientific proof of efficacy in creating more empathetic, resilient and confident students and school communities. Tune in to hear Scarlett talk about the issues behind school violence, her choice to stand for something vs. against something, and why choosing love is so powerful. Her courage and dedication to be a positive force after such a horrible loss is inspiring.  

Dr. Michael Hynes is the Superintendent of the Pathogue-Medford school district on Long Island in New York. He is a leader in whole-child education, successfully implementing his PEAS program (Physical-Emotional-Academic-Social) in the district. Hear him discuss the program concept, goals, and results so far, challenges in implementation, and the insights he recently learned from his visit to Finland, a country that consistently tops the list of nations ranked by academic performance and student success.

Hear Dr. Donna Volpitta discuss the importance of resilience, and how both children and their parents can be taught mindfulness and tactics to enable a more resilient mindset. Her Resilient Mindset Model™, which can be taught in classrooms and to parents and children, demystifies brain science, using fun character that represent the various brain functions that play a role in how we handle stressful situations. She will also talk about the process of personal branding, and why it's so important to character development, our sense of self, and how others perceive us.

Derek Correia interviews Scott Brody, owner of day camps and sleep away camps in MA and NH, member of the board of the American Camp Association, and member of the board of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, to discuss the magic of the camp experience, camp relationships, and the critical social and emotional learning that occurs during camp. Learn more about how camp facilitates independence, empathy, self-confidence, creativity and resilience, among the most critical aspects of character development for children.

Listen as Eliza discusses her experience mentoring Hannah Boylan, which led to the creation of Role Model Mentors. Eliza also discusses how mentorship helped shaped her character through high school, playing D1 lacrosse at UC Davis, transferring to the University of Vermont, and most recently, as a working adult living on her own in Boston, MA.

A discussion with Darby Fox, Child and Adolescent Therapist, and frequent national TV correspondent on child psychology. Being a kid always presented many challenges, but social media, screen time, gaming and constant distractions, over-parenting, lack of free play and reflection time, and outsize expectations are making it more difficult than ever. Learn more about what's impacting children and what to do about it.

Many people don't realize how fundamental character is to the teaching of Martial Arts. Hear firsthand from Sensei Jose Marti how character is embedded in how karate is taught and practiced, and why it's so important to him and the many students he teaches.

In our very first episode, we interview Tim Boylan, and learn how Role Model Mentors was created from an idea he first thought of as a simple way to have at least one person he knew was a terrific kid play a role in his daughter's life at a time when she was beginning the natural process of pulling away from her parents.