Integrity – Week 20

I’ve always felt that I didn’t need to put on a funny hat or jump through a hoop to have a relationship with a child.

-Fred Rogers

For an in-depth overview of each weekly slide presentation, please skip below to your specific grade level.

• To see the 1-page Integrity Character Card and share it with your students’ families, click here.

• For the P2 Reflection Journals, used by all elementary students at the end of the week, click here.

Starting Monday, Partner Schools nationwide will begin learning about integrity. This is doing the right thing when nobody is watching. People with integrity practice what they preach and maintain a consistent pattern of behavior aligned with their values. They have the courage not to follow the crowd if it means going against their beliefs. Integrity is closely linked with the terms of honesty and authenticity. People with integrity tell the truth and have alignment in their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

A person who lacks integrity could be described as pretentious, hypocritical, or insincere. They are pretending to be something that they’re not or they’re saying one thing and then doing another. It is important to be able to change your mind (and be open-minded), as you learn and grow. However, the main distinction comes in the intention. Is the person intending to manipulate another? A second important facet is self-awareness. It’s tough to be true to yourself if you don’t know who you are.

This week’s character strength example is Fred Rogers, the creator and host of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. He showed integrity through his consistent example of caring for other people. He entered television, not for the fame, but instead to make a difference. As he explained, “I got into television because I hated it so. And I thought there’s some way of using this fabulous instrument to nurture those who would watch and listen.”

Integrity is vital to individual growth. It is correlated with a multitude of psychological well-being measures. Harmony in your feelings, thoughts, and actions makes you better able to personally grow and achieve goals. Authenticity, and a lack of pretense, also makes you more likable and trusted by others, meaning your relationships will benefit.

On a group level, integrity is a cornerstone of high-functioning and sustainable teams, organizations, and societies. If you’re constantly wondering about your coworkers’ intentions, you will have a hard time working with them. This is why we look for politicians and leaders with integrity. We need to believe that they’ll keep their word – or at the very least, readily admit it when they must break a promise. If they don’t, trust and performance fail.

And, as a reminder, you can find all of our weekly slide presentations on our website’s Resources page. Enjoy the slides — and please be sure to let us know how it’s going by posting to Twitter and using the #PositivityInAction hashtag!