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

What It Means to Be a Person of Integrity
By Craig Impelman

On the right side of the Pyramid of Success, below patience, there are four additional pieces of mortar: integrity, reliability, honesty and sincerity. These are qualities that, together, encompass the genuineness, strength and impact of human character.

In his book Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden defined integrity and its importance in the following manner:

“Integrity in its simplest form is purity of intention. It’s keeping a clean conscience. But it is also a composite of some of the other mortar qualities in the pyramid. To some extent, integrity contains a bit of reliability, a healthy helping of honesty and a portion of sincerity. However, I believe that the component of purity of intention is important enough to give integrity the status of mortar in its own right.

“Purity of intention is really a reflection of the heart, and having a pure heart is so important that I placed it near the top of the pyramid, just under patience. The heart of a person with integrity always wants to do what’s right, once he or she is sure what ‘right’ is.

“I wanted my players to become men of integrity. When we have integrity, we are not going to do anything that will be demeaning to anybody else, either on or off the court.

The word integrity stems from the Latin adjective integer(whole, complete). Integrity when used as a character term is defined as the quality of being unimpaired or an adherence to moral principles.
“The five people who first come to mind that best reflect the quality of integrity are Jesus, my dad, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa and Billy Graham. The order of the last three really doesn’t matter.

“One of the common threads between these people is that each was genuinely concerned about the betterment of others. The critics of each might not agree, but in my mind, the integrity of their commitments to regard others as more important than themselves sets them apart. Mother Teresa has been quoted as saying, ‘A life not lived for others is not a life.’ ”

Under each piece of mortar on the Pyramid, in parentheses, there is some brief application advice for that mortar. In the original version of the Pyramid, Coach had suggested that integrity was an important trait because it “speaks for itself.” After revising the Pyramid years later, Coach changed the application advice for integrity to instead read, “purity of intention.” Coach had an important motivation for this change. He wanted to make certain that we understand that integrity is the result of a pure heart. A heart that believes, as Coach liked to say, “The most important word in our language is love.”

Coach emphasized integrity as an important personal trait for any coach in his book Practical Modern Basketball. “A coach who is not a sound and honest man has no place in the development of our youth.”

The word integrity stems from the Latin adjective integer (whole, complete). Integrity when used as a character term is defined as the quality of being unimpaired or an adherence to moral principles.

Coach believed that we are whole, complete, unimpaired and of good moral principles when we live a life committed to helping others.

Coach never had an unlisted phone number. He always made his best effort to visit with anyone who sought his help. There are countless stories from people of all walks of life who received encouragement and assistance from Coach, whether it was a phone call, a letter or a visit.

The legacy of his integrity is summarized by two of his favorite quotes.

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” —Lao-Tse
“You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone without a thought of repayment.”

Key Idea: “Integrity in its simplest form is purity of intention."

@Home 

Integrity is doing the right thing even when it's hard, and when no one is looking. If we only do what we are supposed to because we know someone is watching, or we don't want to get in trouble, that's not sincere. As parents we have an incredible opportunity to model integrity.  If we want our children to admit when they make a mistake, we must admit our mistakes as well.  If we want our kids to follow through on commitments, we must as well.  If we want our kids to be truthful even when it hurts, we must model this.

Action:  

-Share a time when you have personally struggled to be full of integrity.

-Role play and come up with examples of integrity in tough situations.

Here is a great article on teaching integrity in the home.

 

On Campus

There are so many situations that arise on a school campus where students and staff are left to make a decision like the young boy in this video.  Can you think of a time when you have seen someone act with integrity?  What was the situation?  How did it make you feel?  What are some ways that we can create a culture of integrity on our campus?

In the Class

Pick one of the four writing prompts to write a short essay on.   

1. Make a list of your principles, or your most basic beliefs, that you wouldn’t compromise no matter what. Now select one of these principles, and write a short story (real or imagined) describing a time you did something courageous by standing up for this principle. In describing this experience, you might think of expanding on Dr. Mike’s notion that life’s choices are like pop quizzes.

2. Imagine that you have been invited to give a speech to a group of young children on how and why they should not buckle under to peer pressure. Write that speech.

3. Identify someone in public life who you think has demonstrated a lack of integrity. Write a letter to this person saying what you think of his/her behavior and what he/she should do to shape up.

4. Write a letter to someone in the news whose integrity has impressed you.

On the Field 

Watch: https://youtu.be/RQVoABIz7uw

Discuss: What does it mean to have integrity on the field? How can we be men and women of integrity today? How can you leave a positive impact on your team and leave a legacy of integrity?

Do: Do 100 push ups before next practice. This is your opportunity to show integrity! No one will be counting them except you! Good luck!