The CharacterStrong Podcast

CharacterStrong Co-Founders John Norlin & Houston Kraft celebrate 100 episodes of the CharacterStrong Podcast. We take some time to answer questions from YOU! Topics: the #1 tip in year one of CharacterStrong for implementation, the role of extrinsic rewards in the CharacterStrong programs, the time it takes for impact, how we can stay kind and loving daily, and how empathy connects to kindness.

Judith Elise Pratt lives on the East side of the Big Island of Hawaii in a small town called Kea'au. She has been an educator for the last nine years and teaches English at Kea'au High School. Her focus in on the 9th grade, but also teaches both AP English Language and AP English Literature. Her primary focus is building positive relationships with students to ensure they can become successful both in and out of the classroom. When she is not teaching she focuses on running and raising her children.

Jeff Gerber is a Leadership teacher and Student Council Advisor at Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School, 5 minutes from his home in New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada. At Waterloo-Oxford he leads one of the largest and most impactful student leadership programs in the province of Ontario. He is passionate about servant leadership and character development and travels across North America speaking about Leadership, Love and Belonging. He was recognized as Advisor of the Year for the province of Ontario in 2013 and as a National Leader of Distinction by the Canadian Student Leadership Association in 2017. You can check out his TEDx talk on Belonging on Youtube and connect with him on social media @jeffgpresents

Tessa Mcilraith is the District Nurse for Burlington-Edison school district. She has been a nurse for 12 years, is going into her 6th year as a school nurse. Tessa serves as the Legislative Chair for the School Nurse Organization of Washington working on legislative advocacy, and is on the board for NW career and technical academy's nursing assistant program supporting the instructor. She also serves on the Burlington Healthy Community Coalition and Sedro-woolley R.I.S.E supporting healthy communities for youth. In edition Tessa has served in youth ministry for 11 years.

Corey Gould, a dedicated Assistant Principal at Liberty Ridge Elementary, shares insights from his 37 years in education. He discusses the vital partnership between schools and families in nurturing student growth and transforming behavioral challenges into learning moments. Corey highlights the significance of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) in fostering inclusivity, alongside the power of character education and storytelling to build empathy. He also introduces the Purposeful People toolkit, emphasizing practical strategies for enhancing social-emotional learning and family engagement.

We talk with Ryan about how students respond to failure, how social media effects how we deal with failure, the importance of modeling and teaching failure, and how we can help and support students when they experience failure. Ryan Healy who has taught for 13 years at Ridgeline Middle School in Yelm, WA. Ryan is the 2019 Capital Region ESD 113 Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for the 2019 Washington State Teacher of the Year. He was also honored with the Association of Washington Student Leaders Middle-Level Adviser of the Year Award in 2014.

Jon Harper is the host of My Bad and the co-host of Teachers' Aid. He has had the chance to interview and learn from over 150 of the top minds in education and psychology. For over 20 years Jon has worked in education. He spent 10 years in the classroom teaching 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th grade, during which time he earned National Board Certification. Jon was also a math coach for 3 years. For the past ten years he has been an assistant principal. He is currently the assistant principal at New Directions Learning Academy, an alternative school for students in grades 3-12. Jon has spent the past 23 years laughing, crying and celebrating with teachers. He knows what they go through each day and he is on a mission to help make their days better.

Dara Feldman is the Chief Enthusiast Officer (CEO) of Virtues Matter. She is a passionate educator, speaker, coach, consultant and the author of The Heart of Education: Bringing Joy, Meaning and Purpose Back to Teaching and Learning. Dara has been an educator for 35 years and was honored as Disney's 2005 Outstanding Elementary Teacher of the Year and Maryland's 2015 Mother of the Year.

Trish Brown is the Counseling Department Chairperson & 9th Grade Counselor at Mercy High School, as well as a Therapist for Better Help in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She is a wife, a mother, an Executive Officer for the PTA at her daughter's elementary school, and a lover of yoga.

Jake Kelfer is a lifestyle entrepreneur and life elevator. He is the bestselling author of Elevate Beyond and Elevate Your Network, a high-energy motivational speaker on a mission to inspire millions of people to achieve personal success and happiness. He is the founder of the Professional Basketball Combine which helps NBA draft prospects turn their dreams of playing pro basketball into their reality. He and his work have been featured on Forbes, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NBC Sports, USA Today, Bleacher Report and many other major media outlets. Connect with Jake on social @jakekelfer