Which is best? Or does it matter? In our preK-3 character building, the character lessons serve as something tangible for our young students to connect with and hold on to as they learn all about the pillars of character. Because of their developmental age, trustworthiness, for example, is kind of an abstract concept, but when we pitch a quarter – which represents a lie – in to a bucket of water and then give the students an “honest abe” penny to pitch in to show that it’s impossible to cover up a lie, now we’ve done some science with the water displacement and given students a concrete visual of the ripple effects that lying and then trying to cover it up can have.
When teachers seize teachable moments in their classrooms to build character, they’re doing much of the same but seemingly a bit more authentically since the integration isn’t in the shape of a formal lesson. Morning Meetings or Sensitivity Circles help to accomplish the same integration goal by creating a safe place to share and modeling listening and empathy to connect a classroom community.
This year our high school PALs formed Integrity Teams and taught character lessons; there was a great deal of engagement in the lessons delivered by their teenage role models! But were those lessons more powerful than when those same teens modeled good character by performing their traditional German Dances for us or leading us in a Red Ribbon pep rally? It probably depends upon the learner.
Just as there are many different learning styles, so we have many, many ways to integrate character into our curriculum, all equally ‘value-able’ methods if they can empower our students with character strength.
I am concerned about the lack of framework in the smorgasbord board approach.Yes,the developmental levels need to be taken into consideration, too. The high schoolers are ready for reasoning and ethics and are beyond Red Ribbon Week.
I hope our nation’s high schoolers aren’t ever beyond Red Ribbon Week. Granted, integration suggests that character education become part of the school’s culture and not just happen one week out of the year, but to set aside a week to heighten awareness of an issue like drug-and-alcohol abuse has its value for kids of all ages. Since we use the Six Pillar framework in our district, we celebrate in combination with Character Counts! Week and use themes like “Character Is Our Anti-Drug” and “Drugs are NOT in our Character,” making a Red Ribbon connection to what we’re already talking about, focusing on, and doing.