TeacherDrivenChange

Creating a Social Ethic

When peer cruelty goes unchecked, it's a very serious problem for many reasons. The school is sending the message that the law of the jungle rules. This threatening atmosphere interferes with learning; students won't be focused on schoolwork if they're worried about getting cut down in their classroom, harassed in the hallway, ostracized at recess, or bullied on the bus. Click here to see the entire article.

Character Education Resources

Dr. Thomas Lickona is a developmental psychologist and Professor of Education at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he has done award-winning work in teacher education and currently directs the Center for the Fourth and Fifth Rs (Respect and Responsibility). http://www.cortland.edu/character/default.asp He has also been a visiting professor at Boston and Harvard Universities.

A past president of the Association for Moral Education, Dr. Lickona now serves on the advisory councils of the Character Education Partnership, Character Counts Coalition and Medical Institute for Sexual Health.

Dr. Lickona is a frequent consultant to schools on character education and a frequent speaker at conferences for teachers, parents, religious educators, and other groups concerned about the moral development of young people. He has lectured across the United States and in Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Ireland, and Latin America on the subject of teaching moral values in the school and in the home.  Click here for more information about Dr. Thomas Lickona, character education, and materials and resources.

Summer Institute in Character Education

The 14^th annual Summer Institute in Character Education,  "Smart & Good Schools: Helping Your Students Do Their Best Work and Do the Right Thing," will be held at the State University of New York at Cortland, June 30 – July 2.  For registration information and program details, please go to: http://www.cortland.edu/character/institutes.asp. Comment from 2007 participant: "This Institute was invaluable. I was especially pleased with the resources I received, the caliber of presenters, the hands-on strategies we could immediately implement, and the networking that enabled us to share ideas with other educators." The Summer Institute is hosted by the Center for the 4^th and 5^th Rs (Respect and Responsibility) and the Institute for Excellence and Ethics (IEE). Registration deadline: June 16.

 

Character is power

Matthew Davidson  -  Thomas Lickona  -  Vladimir Khmelkov

Teacher A wants her sixth-graders to take more responsibility for their grades. She would like them to see their grades as something they earn rather than as something she "gives" them. Simply exhorting them to do so hasn't made much of a difference.

Teacher B, in an effort to inspire his students to care about the quality of their work and the way they treat others, begins each of this grade 8 health education classes with a "character quotation." (Example: "Everything can be taken from us except one thing—the freedom to choose our attitude in any set of circumstances."—Viktor Frankl.) He asks students to write the daily quote in their notebooks and encourages them to "keep it in mind as you go through your day." But he wonders whether they really do.

During his tenure as a high school principal, Principal A has seen a steady deterioration in students' language. Profanity is increasingly common on the schoolyard, in corridors, and even in classrooms. Some parents have complained about the inappropriate language they hear when they come to the school, and many faculty feel that such language detracts from the learning environment and is disrespectful toward those who don't wish to hear it. However, students, when confronted about their inappropriate language, typically say, "That's just the way we talk." Reminders during morning announcements about "using our best language" have had no noticeable effect. There is a rule in the School Handbook that officially prohibits vulgar and profane language in school or on school grounds, but it hasn't been enforced for years. The principal wonders what, if anything, can be done about this problem.

Each of these educators faces a character-based challenge. Character-based challenges call for character-based solutions. All three educators, in their own ways, have attempted to influence students' character, but not as effectively as they would like. Their interventions need more power.

Booker T. Washington said, "Character is power."  Click here for the complete article.