Fairness is a character strength that fits within the relationship arm of the Barwon Heads PS PERMA starfish.

Fair means treating everyone equally and giving everyone a fair chance. Fair is when everyone has their needs met. To be fair you need to remember to treat people the way you want to be treated.

People who are fair play by the rules, they take turns and think about how their actions may affect others.

The following videos show examples of both unfairness and fairness.

This is Our House by Bob Graham

At school and at home, when playing (games and sport) and being with others, there are many examples of writtten and unwritten rules to make things fair to everyone.

Being a positive bystander is another example of fairness.

Some more examples of unwritten rules can be; in my home, people take their shoes off before they come inside if they are muddy or wet so as not to dirty the floors. Another understanding is that we take it in turns to wash the dishes after dinner.

In the classroom, students know to put their hands up if they want to speak as it’s unfair to the teacher and their classmates if they call out. Another unwritten rule is that we are considerate of others, especially our classmates and teachers.

Can you list some rules, or understandings that you can think of that make things fair? Why do we have these understandings/rules?

Modesty is about not showing off and knowing your strengths and weaknesses.

Modesty is like humility and people who show humility do not seek the spotlight, preferring to let their accomplishments speak for themselves. They do not regard themselves as special, and others recognise their modesty.

It is good to be confident in yourself and to always strive to be the best you can be. Yet, truly successful people strive not only to be their best, but to be great in how they treat others and celebrate their talents.

Modesty comes within the Positive Emotions arm of our PERMA model.

Modesty is not just for the ball field, it is something to apply to every aspect of your life.  It is about being courteous and saying “please” and “thank you” all the time, not occasionally.  It is about being able to apologise to others even if you are just slightly in the wrong.  It is also about listening and open to learning from others.  Being humble is recognizing that everyone has different strengths and paying complements to other people.

“The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister – How did Rainbow Fish’s lack of modesty effect the way others thought of him?

How you can help your children develop Humility (for parents, but equally applicable in the classroom).

“King Pig”  by Nick Bland – did King Pig show modesty? How did his behaviour impact on those around him?

Can you make connections between humility and modesty?

Can you think of someone who you look up to who shows modesty? It might be a leader, someone you know or a sports star.

People with wisdom are wise and understand what is important in life. Having wisdom means being able to give advice and recognising different sides before making decisions.

Older people are said to be wise as they have lived through so many different experiences. People with wisdom are often understanding and have a bank of knowledge or learning from the past that they use to choose from. They think before they speak or offer advice.

Can you think of a person or a mentor who shows the Character Strength of Wisdom? What about Aesop’s fables? Can you think of any fables wherein characters display wisdom?

What have you learnt about life? What words of wisdom would you give to a student younger than you?

The Three Questions

“Because” by Mo Williams

Courage is being afraid of something and doing it anyway. This can apply to all aspects of life from holding a snake to telling the truth to standing up for yourself.

To practise being brave:

• Try new things, have adventures, and face your fears. This can be done in baby steps and at your own pace
• Be an upstander! This takes courage as upstanders need to take risks to support others and to do what they feel is the right thing to do for the good of the whole.
• Remember that it’s ok to do it wrong. It’s also ok to “fail” and at Barwon Heads PS we all know that mistakes are good because they help us to learn! Often we are too afraid to try out for a team or role in a play because we are afraid we will not get accepted. Failing and rejection are all part of the learning process. We have to take chances and learn from both the good and bad that results from them.

“Tomoorrow I’ll be Brave” by Jessica Hisch

Have Courage and Be Fearless

I like this clip with Kid President, it’s about being brave but it’s also “a Call to people all over the world” which fits well with Meaning (I belong to a world bigger than myself) in our PERMA model.

Rose Meets Mr Wintergarden by Bob Graham

I Am Courage – A book of Resilience by Susan Verde