Who we are
My name is Debra Tiffany, M.Ed, an educator and parent. In 2011, I followed my dream of joining the Peace Corps and set out for Colombia to teach English for the next two indescribable years, and out of it, CHARACTEROPOLIS was born! It is a Story-Based/Teacher Character Development Guide/COLORING BOOKProgram that came to life with the discovery of my passion for Character Education. I wrote the first book as an example for Student Teachers and could not stop there! It is now a growing collection with many more in the works. Over many years of teaching a wide range of grades, subjects, and student populations, I realized my profound desire to help children, teachers, and parents by creating comprehensive resources told through inspiring children’s stories. I strive to reach young children by providing them with educational tools to learn and practice the Core Values that generations have successfully operated with through the ages. So grab a story and set out for CHARACTEROPOLIS today! C!
The Story of CHARACTEROPOLIS
Ms. Evans had been joyously teaching elementary school for many years when she began to notice a change in her students. She finally decided it was what she wasn’t hearing anymore, the please and thank yous, the kind voices and words, and the neighborly concern for others at times…but only at times. She could still sense it, but felt it missing more each passing day.
With that, she stuffed her trusty backpack and left to find those forever dependable core values that once occupied her classroom 24/7! Ms. Evans was determined to seek them out and learn how to fill the classroom with her dependable old friends once again. She felt it was important for all children to have the opportunity to grow up with the same set of character skills and tools she did as a young girl.
Country after country and countless school visits later, Ms. Evans began to notice that same feeling she had in her classroom back home. She decided the next logical step was to find a corner cafe to think through this gnawing dilemma and devise a plan. While she quietly sipped her tea, she watched the local buses whoosh by, picking up and dropping off passengers, with everyone smiling and thanking the driver as they left. AHA, that’s it! If she could create a “place” where people came and went, accessible to everyone, and left with that peaceful sense of integrity and gratitude, she would have brought the core values back to life. This was her new goal in life, and she planned to meet it with gusto!
She finally returned home and passionately began to formulate ideas, draw up plans, erase and redraw, and before long CHARACTEROPOLIS sprung right out of her imagination and onto the paper! She figured in this now hybrid-world of half-live/half-virtual, her newborn “school” could exist everywhere, and the core values could ultimately make their way into the hearts of children the world over.
At last, Ms. Evans was able to bring the traditional core values back together under one universal roof. She began sharing them through tender children’s stories and lesson plans, with the hope that they would again touch the lives of our young, and live out through their words, actions, and loving attitudes. Her busy classroom was once again filled with loving hope and warm, positive attitudes!