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Though the pandemic has heightened the struggle for students to connect with their peers, this has been an ongoing problem since far before 2020. The need for a solution prompted Jeff Bryan and Mike Erwin to start the Positivity Project, a different approach towards character education: formal teachings grounded in self-worth and quality relationships.

“We want to get upstream on problems and act before there is a negative interaction,” Bryan said.

The proactive program combats an “epidemic” of loneliness, according to its website. Through the years, there have been many attempts to reconcile the ways students mistreat each other. Specifically, the Wheeler Elementary School in Onondaga County tried Kindness Counts, Fill Your Bucket and John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. On a broader spectrum, the federal government strengthened the Stop Bullying initiative in 2010 by creating stopbullying.gov, which focuses on how to stop bullying after it has already begun.

The Positivity Project, also known as P2, partners with schools across the country and provides them with materials to teach the six virtues of positive psychology — wisdom and knowledge, humanity, justice, courage, temperance and transcendence. They currently partner with 750 elementary and middle schools in both urban and rural areas, including Wheeler Elementary.

The project is based on what Bryan describes as “the 24 character strengths” — traits that every person has. These range from teamwork and enthusiasm to humor and forgiveness, and they act as a vehicle for students to understand themselves as well as the people around them.

“Making children aware that every one of them has all 24 character strengths provides the foundation for genuine self-confidence grounded in self-awareness,” Bryan said. “At the same time, it helps children better understand why everyone is different and how to appreciate those differences.”

Bryan said the project does not ignore negative emotions, but rather teaches students how to react when they feel them.

“They learn to combat fear with bravery and temptation with self-control,” Bryan said.

In addition to character strengths, the project also has an emphasis on the “Other People Matter Mindset.” Erwin said the mindset encompasses five factors, which include looking for the good in other people, celebrating people when they succeed, supporting others when they struggle, giving your attention to others and acknowledging how your actions affect others.

“When exposed to these traits, we have the ability to better understand other people, especially people who are different from us,” Erwin said. “This is the formula for stronger relationships.”

In response to feedback on the previous hashtag, @pos_project has committed to promoting and teaching allyship. FMP2 is working on the same! #humility #BetterLateThanNeverGram
Repost from @pos_project
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At The Positivity Project, we have been taking a very close and thoughtful look into how we show up as a catalyst for positive change in the years ahead. As a veteran-founded non-profit organization working to unite our country around a common vocabulary, we are not turning a blind eye to what is happening in our nation. And, we do not want to distract from the important conversations taking place about race and the fact that Black lives matter.
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Thank you to the educators at our #P2PartnerSchools for taking the time to provide us with your choice on what The Positivity Project’s new motto and hashtag should be. We know that moving away from “Other People Matter” isn’t easy, as it quickly encapsulated a message you want to share with your students — which is the importance of thinking about others and not just yourself.
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At the same time, we’re grateful for you being able to see the classroom from the perspective of other teachers, students, and parents. Our aim is to reach students across the entire country and empower them to build positive relationships and become their best selves. If a large percentage of people are immediately questioning the intention of our hashtag and motto, then we simply can’t achieve that mission.
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We’re proud to announce that our new motto and hashtag, by popular vote of P2 Partner Schools will be #PositivityInAction.
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– Jeff Bryan, Co-founder E.D

A photo posted by fmposproject

Schools that partner with the Positivity Project are instructed to teach 15-minute daily lessons. Each week, classes focus on a new trait — past weeks have included gratitude, self-control and leadership. A typical lesson can include a range of videos, games and activities, and toward the end of the week, the students reflect on what they learned by journaling.

Wheeler Elementary is just one of many schools that have benefited from partnering with P2. Christine Moen, a teacher at the school, said that it has helped students feel more included.

“The program shows the kids that we all have the same feelings,” Moen said. “It then shows them how to share those feelings in a positive way.”

On top of the 15-minute lesson plan, Moen uses the materials to help solve conflicts in her classroom. She said students have become very comfortable with the program, and they will often refer to its character traits and what they learned from them.

The P2 program emphasizes diversity, as it is vital that each child is able to connect with the materials no matter their background, Bryan said. He said he ensures each lesson has a range of representation of examples in each video, and the entire project is rooted in connecting people who are different.

Although P2 provides the lessons to schools, it is up to the teachers to get the kids excited about the material. “It is the staff enthusiasm that makes the biggest difference in how effective these programs work,” said Susan Orecki, a guidance counselor at Wheeler Elementary.

Moen said that teachers at her school sometimes present a character trait in the form of a skit, song or dance — they go out of their way to ensure the kids correlate having fun with being a good person.

On Wednesdays at Wheeler Elementary, all of the teachers wear Positivity Project t-shirts. The traits are also hung up all around the building as reminders of what the students can focus on, which promotes the character strengths throughout the day even after the initial lesson is over.

The Positivity Project’s before and after research proves that the program is already making a difference, Bryan said. Elementary school students’ sense of relatedness increased by about 22% in schools surveyed before and after implementing the project.

The survey asked students to rate various statements on a 1-5 scale, including “the people that I like, also like me,” “the people I spend time with do not like me” and “I feel excluded from the group I want to be a part of.” The students are asked to rate other indicators of relatedness as well. The traits that students excel at are mentioned in their report cards.

“Families appreciate this, because it gives them tangible information about which character traits their child is exhibiting in school,” Moen said.

Published on April 19, 2022 at 12:23 am

Contact Rachel: rcmeller@syr.edu