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Jenny introduced four schools in Scunthorpe, in the UK, to the concept of the 24 VIA 'character strengths' in 2004. The strengths became the final thread of a project focused on supporting the mental health of pupils and teachers. The project incorporated the insights of pupils and teachers and was an interdisciplinary project that drew on theories from anthropology, psychoanalytic theory and theology as well as positive psychology. The project became known as 'Celebrating Strengths' and Jenny later wrote a book of the same title. Celebrating Strengths linked a focus on the 24 strengths over the course of a school year, with regular school wide celebrations or traditions and frequent use of oral storytelling, using traditional, folk and faith stories from around the world.
Celebrating Strengths, while it can be used as a methodology by individual class teachers, is primarily a whole school philosophy that promotes the moral, spiritual and emotional development of pupils within a multi-faith context.
Pre-learning: The teacher needs to be able to retell the story (preferably WITHOUT a written version – story TELLING is a powerful experience for children, even if you are not very confident), Children would benefit from having been introduced to some of the strengths and to have had the chance to think about what they mean.
1. This process works best in a circle, either sitting on the floor or on chairs. I always work at the same level as the children – if they are on the floor, I am on the floor. Storytelling is a democratic process.
6. Invite each child, if they wish, to stand up and move a card that shows a strength THEY heard in the story into the center, saying which character showed the strength and where. Nobody comments – this is IMPORTANT. The children need to feel safe to express their views.
7. If a child wishes to include a strength that is already in the center they pick it up and put it down in the same place, saying where THEY saw this strength.
8. They might also say which strengths a character did NOT use that they should have used.
Oral story telling is a creative teaching technique that is enjoyable and profoundly respectful. It allows hearers to interpret a story in their own way. It allows teachers to BE creative and it allows listeners to be creative too – they have to create the story in their heads. Children can see that each of them has a different perspective on the story and sees something different.Children are given a chance to discuss moral concepts in a fictional setting and to explore what concepts such as 'courage' mean to them. They also hear what they mean to other people. This process teaches children to listen to one another, to see that all characters have strengths and to express their views simply and clearly.
Duration of application/program: The pilot schools for Celebrating Strengths are still using either elements of the program or the entire program 7 years after we developed it.