1. COOL TOOL Sheila Stewart
CHOICES
COOL TOOL
Sheila Stewart
Here is your video for this week…turn up the volume!!
Hero making good choices:

2. Even when you feel trapped in a difficult situation you have a choice that could change your life.
It may not always seem like we have a lot of choices, but we do, every day in small and large ways.
With that in mind, here’s a list of the choices we can all make every day:
Choose to smile.
Choose to not let adults get you down.
Choose to understand other people, even if they seem like the most awful people alive.
Choose to be confident.
Choose to not be scared.
Choose to be who you are, not who someone says you should be.
Choose to dream.
Choose to believe in the good we’re all capable of.
Choose to know that we all hold darkness within us.
Choose to ask the questions that challenge rigid assumptions.
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3. Do you have any positive choices to add to the list?
Choose to walk away.
Choose to take a risk.
Choose to open your heart and forgive.
Choose to remember those you miss.
Choose to keep living even though it seems impossible at times.
Choose to move on from everything that makes you miserable.
Choose to be strong.
Choose to go out there and achieve your desires.
Choose to do the right thing.
Choose to laugh.
Choose to be happy.
Do you have any positive choices to add to the list?

4. Choices can be decided by weighing the consequences. When should you….
Give an example of when each choice can be used.

5. Steps to make a good choice when you are not sure what to do.
If your grandmother was standing next to you, would you do what you are about to do? If not, don’t do it!

6. What does this mean to you? Do you know people who are always unhappy?
Do you believe that they choose to be unhappy?

7. For the teachers… Activity for another time:
Here is an activity that you can use in your classroom to help students reflect on character and choices.
Have the kids in your class list the five greatest challenges they have faced. Next, have them consider what they might have done that contributed to those challenges. Or they might think about contributing occurrences that were difficult to deal with.
The next day, have students identify one or two people that they believe possess great character. This individual can be someone they know personally or someone famous. Ask students to describe in writing how they believe their person of high character would have handled each of the five challenges that they identified from the day before.
Create a master list of all the kids' challenges and ideal responses (keep the information anonymous), distribute copies, and then facilitate a whole-class discussion. After talking about how they would handle the list of difficult circumstances, have your kids determine if the hypothesized responses from the respected figures properly demonstrate character. Finally, ask if there are even better ways to respond to the challenging situations.
No one will know who faced which tough situation, yet all will identify with the challenges and responses. If proposed responses to the challenges are less than ideal, that's fine. The important takeaway from the activity is this: demonstrating character involves making a choice, and it's never too late.
From edutopia,