Our Stormy Wannabees G.R.I.T. Curriculum

We developed the Stormy Wannabees Initiative to give students the Advantage they need to better prepare for their futures. Students who are in their first two years of high school have long futures ahead of them that include their last two years in high school, advanced education after high school (whether that be college or industry training), and their lives as working adults, citizens, and (optionally) parents of the next generation.

Today’s teachers have become subject matter experts as they ensure that their students learn the academic standards that define content matter in academic classes. Few teachers have time to teach anything but the subject that is their specialty.

But we all know that students need to learn a lot more than academics. In fact, feedback from multiple surveys of thousands of experienced business people, both high school and college graduates enter the workforce with little of the soft skills and/or character traits they need. Employers do not blame teachers for this deficiency. In fact, employers typically cite changing societal norms and over-protective parents for what has become a serious deficiency in young adults entering the workforce.

They define this missing character trait as ‘grit.’

Grit usually means a ‘gritty’ substance such as dirt or sand. But another meaning of the word refers to a positive trait that describes the character of a person who has what it takes to work through whatever problems are obstructing the completion of a task, regardless of how much effort, or time, or sacrifice it takes. Synonyms for ‘grit’ would include perseverance, tenacity, determination, fortitude, doggedness, will power, and resolve. Individuals who have grit take failures in stride and learn to learn from those failures.

Some employers would also call these character traits ‘professionalism.’ In fact, according to a survey of 20,000 employers done by The GRIT Institute, grit is the character trait that employers rank the highest of all.

To ensure our high school students know what GRIT is and what it means to employers, we developed targeted, proprietary electronic curriculum modules that help students understand, practice, and ‘own’ all of the character traits employers believe are critical

In fact, the very name of our curriculum — GRIT — also defines the other character traits that business people want:

G is for Growth (a commitment to lifelong learning)

R is for Responsibility (meeting all commitments)

I is for Integrity (honesty, honor, decency)

T is for Time-Awareness (punctual, deadlines always met)

As Wannabees, students will hear critical messages from the employer community through the G.R.I.T. curriculum. Our learning modules define what students need to do (or avoid doing) in order to remain employable. Each presentation is reinforced with an online debriefing survey in the form of multiple choice questions.

The curriculum modules are designed to inspire teacher-led discussions that will help guide students as they navigate their lives as freshmen and sophomores. Ultimately, we don’t make decisions for any student. We don’t tell anyone what to think. We help students understand how to think in a way that will help them make the best decisions possible and where to find the facts they need to make wise decisions about their futures.

In addition to our G.R.I.T. curriculum, we offer several unique Wannabees program activities, all of which work together to enhance understanding, add experiential learning opportunities, and provide an ‘Advantage’ to participating students. With these program add-ons, the Stormy Wannabees Advantage Initiative takes a ‘turn for the real,’ with simulations games and team events that help participants understand the competitive nature of the world they will enter after high school.

Check out our G.R.I.T. curriculum information in the bulleted list at the bottom of this page. SANAB SANABSANAB

Don’t Miss This Additional Information:

Check out our Wannabees Program Activities for Freshmen.

Check our our Wannabees Program Activities for Sophomores.

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