How to Change a Rotten Attitude

A Manual for Building Virtue and Character in Middle and High School Students

"The perfect prescription! It's both an assessment tool and an overall educational strategy for developing healthy attitudes toward learning and life." Klaus Issler, Professor, Biola University, La Mirada, California "Gives teachers a sound method of getting the best from all their students." Leo Zuber, High School Superintendent, Ripon Unified School District, California "A solid, reseach-based approach to moral development. Deserves wide exposure." Frederic R. Wilson, Educational Consultant, Wheaton, Illinois "Well written and extremely comprehensive. A great resource." Robert B. Gonzalez, Teacher, Liberty High School, Brentwood, Califonia This book is tailor-made for teachers who are tired of spending all their time on the "bad apple" in their class. It shows how to challenge and then change student attitudes for the better. The key is the Virtue Assessment Questionnaire, which lets you measure - simply and easily - your students' virtue. Just follow the step-by-step instructions on scoring and interpreting results. The author defines virtue in this context as wanting to do what you have to do - good conduct growing out of good character, an expression of being and doing. Now you can unlock the mysteries of classroom problems and restore virtue to students whose lives are broken. Help students assess negative feelings, change perspectives, figure out what's right, develop a desire for virtue, and become people of good character. Loehrer teaches you how your interactions with students and coworkers can help instill virtue and build character in your students. Be their moral leader, and you give them the foundation they need to move toward becoming people of good character. Loehrer offers you these powerful principles you can practice to teach your students virtue: * Do more than is required * Give generously * Forgive freely, without being asked * Offer encouragement when faced with opposition * Help others in secret, without acknowledgment * Handle discipline problems with justice * Suffer in silence - no complaints * Persist, and be patient Make your personal ethics system a regular part of your daily classroom activities and see a marked improvement in your students' attitudes about learning and about life. Includes scoring forms and guidelines.