Educationists ,the world over or for that matter any one trying to nurture a child have been pondering over this question : How to develop good character in children? But there is an appended question also. What is good character? Is it really something that can be taught in a formal way, in the classroom, or is it the responsibility of the family, something that is inculcated gradually over years of experience? Imagine that you have found an answer to this , then comes the next question. Which character/qualities matter most for a child trying to negotiate his way to adulthood?
This article by Paul Tough , a must read for people working in education , has an apt title- What if the Secret to Success Is Failure? He narrates various examples to show that many of the elite school students fumble when they face ‘failure’. “ Students who persisted in college were not necessarily the ones who had excelled academically ..; they were the ones with exceptional character strengths, like optimism and persistence and social intelligence. They were the ones who were able to recover from a bad grade and resolve to do better next . Read it.