By: Ashley Winterstein
Ed Caporin got his first taste of character coaching four years ago and has been going strong ever since. Caporin currently visits two classrooms at Kennard Elementary every week to share lessons of good character with his students. He believes in “the consistent spoon feeding of good character traits in tiny but regular bites. The trick is to make the little bites memorable for the children.”
Caporin has definitely left a lasting impression on his classes with his December lessons. Caring was the Pillar of the Month for December, therefore Caporin wanted to demonstrate ways that they could be caring people at home and at school and then grow into caring adults.
Knowing how children often emulate adults, Caporin decided to invite a caring adult to speak to his classes in hopes of illustrating the importance of helping others and showing you care. Kenny Wood of Lifetime Well Drilling in Denton was the perfect choice.
Wood has traveled to Ghana, Africa numerous times and drilled over 400 wells there in the past three years. The hard work of the Lifetime Well Drilling crew has allowed approximately 100,000 people in Ghana to have access to clean drinking water in places where they previously had to walk over two miles to retrieve contaminated water for their families.
Wood shared many stories with the students at Kennard Elementary about his experiences in Ghana and the people he met there. According to Caporin, the students “were wonderfully inquisitive. They picked up on the sacrifices he made … and were curious about the details of travel and living conditions there. I’m pretty sure the children will remember what it is to be a caring adult.”
Being able to meet someone who has positively impacted so many strangers half way around the world was a wonderful learning experience for the students. Wood uses his own talents and resources in a place where they have a life changing impact on many. He is an excellent role model for good character in our schools and community.
Caporin took advantage of a great opportunity for his students by inviting Wood to share his story. He states, “It is my sincere hope that more people will get active in Character Counts. I know there are lots of people out there who would be very good at helping with this program … Kenny is a perfect example. I know he could not afford the time to do CC every week. But he sure was effective on the brief exposure he got to my classes.”
The Character Counts! Advisory Council would like to thank Kenny Wood for taking the time to share his experiences in Ghana with the students at Kennard Elementary and Ed Caporin for awarding his students with real life inspiration and goals.
If you have any questions or would like more information about the Character Counts! program, please contact Jacki Carter at 410-758-6677 or jcarter@qac.org.