Throughout February 2012, we’ll be working on the concept of “loyalty.”

All our discussions and activities will aim to help our students understand how to be faithful, steadfast and true to someone or something. We will also help them understand that loyalty doesn’t demand silence when we feel that somebody or something is in the wrong.

Powerful Words is the name of our character development curriculum here at Urban Martial Arts. It’s designed by one of the nation’s leading childhood development experts, Dr. Robyn Silverman. Every month, we’ll focus on a different Powerful Word, or concept around character development.

To inspire your own discussions at home, here are five of our all-time favorite quotes about loyalty:

“Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life”
—Napoleon Hill

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”
—Zig Ziglar

“Loyalty should not require people to comprimise their character. True friends will never ask you to behave in a way that is contrary to who you really are.”
—Dr. Robyn Silverman

“The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.”
—Rensis Likert

“Loyalty is still the same, whether it win or lose the game; true as a dial to the sun, although it be not shined upon.”
—Samuel Butler

To give you more ideas for conversation topics, here’s a run-down of what we’ll be discussing this month:

Week 1 Loyalty defined: Responsibility, faithfulness, dependability, and trust
Week 2 Loyal roles: How can I be a loyal friend, child, sibling and citizen?
Week 3 Speaking up vs ratting out: When “loyalty” feels strange
Week 4 Loyal Student: How can I be loyal to my school, my goals, and my classmates?

We’d love to hear how your conversations go with your child so do share with us!

Photo Credit: Mattox on stock.xchng