“The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” Benjamin Franklin

There are few things in life that are more rewarding or challenging than educating our youth. Every year teachers are presented with a sea of new faces for which they must create connection and meaning. The students behind the faces represent tremendous variety in their personal histories and family cultures. Even so, teachers must make sense of the students’ individuality as well as create a community wherein they can work together and learn.

We have high expectations for what teachers must accomplish in order to be considered legitimate in society’s eyes. However, none of our expectations can equal those set by the teachers themselves. For many, teaching is their passion and mission in life. They want nothing more than to make a difference in the lives of young people. They have knowledge they want to share and lives they want to touch. They welcome any tools that will assist them in accomplishing their goals. They are eager to make the type of relationship with their students that allow them to successfully teach their message.

The new Color Code curriculum, Getting It! helps both high school and junior high school students and their teachers connect with a mutual understanding that enriches both their personal and professional connection.

Getting It! includes a special assessment report geared to the needs of students. In addition to explaining the students’ driving core motive, they will also find helpful study guidelines, possible career choices and much more.  The curriculum is made up of two units each with a 50-minute seat time. The first unit, Getting Yourself, focuses on the students and their own needs and wants, and strengths and limitations. Young people are especially open to discovering new insights about themselves. They feel far less threatened than adults by the prospect of looking inward at their inherent strengths and limitations. They freely challenge each other and seek feedback from their peers about how they are perceived. For many, this awareness is extremely positive because it provides an identity separate from their family and cultural foundations. It frees them to see themselves at their raw, innate core.

I finally felt like I was somebody I could accept. I had tried all my life to be what my parents were like—who they want me to be—and this gave us all permission to like me for who I really was inside.”  -Lisa, California

The second unit, Getting Others, focuses on relationships and how each personality reacts and interacts with others. Young people begin to see peers, parents, siblings, and yes, teachers, as separate personalities with their own specific needs and wants, and not as antagonists.

Both teacher and student bring their personalities (and biases) to the educational experience. Blending personalities and preferences for learning may well be the most daunting challenge yet also the most magical achievement in the entire education process. For example, a Blue teacher who believes that students should always act appropriately and be well mannered may struggle with Yellow students. Yellow teachers, on the other hand, may cause stress for Blue students who are looking for structure and clear directions. Red teachers can be heavy authoritarians that may cause White students to react with passivity rather than challenge the educational leaning process. Neither benefits the other if this relationship is not well understood.

Educators know that their work goes far beyond the classroom and are often eager to make al long-lasting impact with students. They simply must be armed with the tools to do so. Getting It! provides those tools.

Color Code recognizes the budget constraints that most schools face. With that in mind, Color Code has developed a sponsorship-based model for getting the program into the schools at no charge. Businesses in the community will have the opportunity to bring this program into the schools for a nominal fee. In return, Color Code has put together a great sponsorship package that includes banner ads visible to each student as they take the assessment, as well as a complete Color Code training package for their business.

For more information on bringing these tools to your schools, or for sponsoring a school in your area, fill out the form below.