Wooden Wins! - Honesty
Our Pyramid of Success focus this month will be on Honesty. At American Heritage Charter Schools, we celebrate the core value of “Live Pure”.

Our Pyramid of Success focus this month will be on Honesty. At American Heritage Charter Schools, we celebrate the core value of “Living Pure”.
Tell the Truth
By Craig Impelman

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” –Mark Twain

Coach John Wooden’s father used to give him similar instructions: If you always tell the truth, you will not have to remember what you said.

It is a great self-reminder when we are asked a question that we are expected to know the answer to but don’t. If we think about this idea, we will be very comfortable simply saying those three words that develop trust: I don’t know, rather than making something up that “sounds good.”

It is also a great reminder that prevents us from exaggerating things in an attempt to impress somebody else to get a desired result in the short run.

This simple tell the truth approach was a cornerstone of Coach Wooden’s communication when he was recruiting prospective student athletes. In his book with Don Yaeger, A Game Plan for Life, Coach described it this way:
Hand in hand with consistency come honesty and trust. When a teacher or a coach or any kind of mentor is consistent in his or her principles, it creates trust between the mentor and the people he or she is mentoring.

I never tried to talk a student into coming to UCLA. I tried to show him what was there and what to expect, and I never told him he was going to play; I told him he would have the opportunity to play, and if he was good enough, then he’d be able to.
Instead, I would tell each student that if he did choose to attend UCLA, and I hoped he would, that he would be very unhappy his first year.

“You’re going to be away from home and your parents and all the things you’ve known for a number of years,” I’d explain. “It’s going to be very different academically and you’re going to wish you had gone someplace else.

But let me tell you this: If you had gone someplace else, it would be the same thing and you’d wonder what would have happened if you’d gone to UCLA. So there you go. Think it over.”

Coach Wooden had very few players over the years that transferred to other schools because they were disappointed with their playing time.

They stayed, in part, because they had a great relationship with Coach Wooden, which had started with the strongest of all foundations: the truth!

Key Idea:"Be prepared and be honest.”

@Home
 
Our kids are growing up in a culture that challenges them on a daily basis to discern what is honest and true, and then decide how to live that out on a personal level.

Watch 10 Amazing Quotes on Honesty. Ask your child which quote resonates with them and why.

-This is a great time to share personal experiences. Let your child know that you aren’t perfect. Share about a time when it was difficult for you to tell the truth, but how being honest was the right thing to do.

-Discuss some of the consequences of dishonesty. Example: losing the trust and respect of others, trust is difficult to rebuild, one lie can lead to more lies, and how lies often end in embarrassment and unfavorable consequences.

Most importantly, model and affirm honesty. This is a virtue that is both caught and taught!

 

On Campus


Activity: Listen to the Honesty Song. 

Staff Response: Time to get pumped up about honesty! No better way to do that than to listen to this fun song and dance! Think about what honesty means to you and why it is important. Play this song for your family or for a group of students at school.

In the Class


Activity: Honesty Pack

Choose any activity from the bundle to complete with your class. 

On the Field


Share this video with your teams and discusss why "Honesty" is important in our sports:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhn6eO3Wds

 "True heroes are made of hard work and integrity" -Hope Solo