Power of Character

In this personal, thought-provoking and timely book, Dr Andrew Reay offers a clarion call to parents, educators and business leaders who are seeking to unlock the true potential of our next generation - their character - and ensure they really do flourish as human beings. For too long, government initiatives have turned our schools into cost-centred and target-driven organisations. The Power of Character offers the tools by which we can buck the trends of this old, outdated system, introducing new ideas to the classroom and new structures to the schooling system that can revolutionise the way we prepare our children for their future: a mandate for Education 2.0. Distilling vast amounts of scientific information into engrossing narratives, Reay's Six Elements of Character are translated through the work of behavioural scientists in the fields of human motivation, decision making, optimism, grit and mind-set to show how a new wave of educators are using these tools of science to peel back the mysteries of our very character. At its heart, this book challenges the reader to evaluate how we raise and educate our children, how we run our schools, how we lead our businesses and how we construct our social networks for the betterment of themselves and everyone around them. Part biography, part historical review, part survey of evidence, part polemic and part a how-to guide for ambitious schools, this book will inform, entertain, stimulate, inspire, and occasionally exasperate in equal measure. --Dr Barry J Hymer, Emeritus Professor of Psychology in Education, University of Cumbria Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with real stories, The Power of Character will permanently change how we see what Martin Luther King once described as the true goal of education - and how you see this within yourself the content of our very own character and the mandate for an Education 2.0 --Sir Iain Hall A fascinating book - thought provoking and stimulating. --David Laws, Schools Minister, 2012-2015