Character Education: Enhancing a Generation of Students

The development of children who will acquire and act on ethics must begin from a young age.  It is not that parents cannot solely instill good character, but the school environment also has a responsibility to enforce these values. If children are expected to be honest, if we want them to respect different cultures, make reasonable decisions, and truly care about family and their community, then these values must be taught. These things do not happen on their own; they take a village, and with the support of our schools, we will be able to teach students the ability to maneuver and succeed in life.

There is and should be an argument about character traits being subjective. But most professionals and country leaders will agree on some of the basics. These character traits should include integrity, civility, kindness, perseverance, responsibility, tolerance, and self-discipline, just to name a few. A person’s character implies that the nature and habits they possess determine the way that they will normally respond in most situations. Having a great character is honorable and indicates that a person is worthy of the credit they receive.

Your character forms your identity. We all are judged by our character; it is also how we decide whether or not we want to have a relationship with someone. We should not assume that children, left to their own accord, will grow and become young adults of good character. A large population of youth grow up without understanding the principles needed to guide them in the 21st century.

What Makes Character Education Successful?

 Character education should be implemented at all levels. It is important to set a strong foundation during the earlier grades and reinforce and build on it during the future grades.    To be effective, character education must include the entire school community and be infused throughout the curriculum and culture.

The Four Keys to Success of Character Education are: 

• Must Be Planned

• Must Be Applied Consistently

• Teacher Must Lead by Example

• Buy-In from All Stakeholders

Parents are the primary and most important moral educators of their children, but the school also has a role to play, which includes working with parents to maximize this effort. Public schools should develop character education programs in close partnership with parents and the community. Schools should focus on teaching character within the regular curriculum through activities, lessons, and programs.

Character education takes deliberate steps to cultivate moral and intellectual virtues through every phase of school life. The example of adults, relationship building among peers, the unorthodox handling of discipline, the resolution of conflict, the content of the curriculum, the focus on skills instead of standards, the culture of the school, and the involvement of parents make up the character education curriculum. Every activity in the school formulates character education because everything affects and revolves around character.

Evaluating Character Education

A character education school makes effective use of active teaching and learning methods such as cooperative learning, problem-solving approaches, experience-based projects, Socratic seminars, and jigsaw lessons. One of the most authentic ways to respect children is to respect the way they learn.

Effective character education must include the ability to evaluate progress effectively. Outcomes must be measured, and the attention paid to them will also dictate the future direction of programs or curriculums. The character of the school must be assessed by the pace at which the school is becoming a more considerate community. This can be assessed through surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups. The school’s faculty and staff's must also be evaluated. Professional development, workshops, and other training, such as anti-bias training, will increase education and can also be assessed through interviews, surveys, and focus groups.

Character is not built in a semester or a year. It is an ongoing process that takes a lot of dedicated adults to understand the vision. It has the potential to increase test scores, high school graduation rates, attendance, engagement, and culture. Students will follow only if there is a plan, and if modeled correctly, they will believe and comply.