Shouldn't parents be the primary character educators?
Developing character is first and foremost a parental responsibility, but the task must also be shared with schools and the broader community. As today’s society provides more and tougher challenges to raising ethical, responsible children, increasingly, parents and communities are looking to schools for assistance.
Who decides what character education traits are emphasized?
It is very important that each school community reach consensus on what values should be taught in a school in order to create the sense of ownership that is needed to obtain "buy-in" for the program. To be effective, school-based character education programs need broad support from all stakeholders in the community – educators, parents, community leaders, youth service groups, businesses, and faith and charitable groups. Early in the planning process, schools should collaborate with parents and their communities to craft a shared vision and objectives. Collectively, they should identify the core values to be taught in their school as well as the particular approaches to teaching them. Effective character education schools across the country have shown that, despite deep differences, schools and communities can join together around a commitment to ethical and performance values. We know that there are some things that we all value – for ourselves and for our children. We want our children to be honest and hard-working. We want them to respect those different from themselves. We want them to make responsible decisions in their lives. We want them to care about their families, communities, and themselves. These things do not happen on their own. It takes all of us, with the support of our schools, to get us there.
Who teaches character education in a school?
Inherently, each and every adult in a school is a character educator by virtue of interaction with students. Regardless of whether a school has formalized character education, all adults serve as role models. Students constantly watch as adults in the school – teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, cafeteria aides, bus drivers – serve as models for character – whether good or bad. Beyond modeling, no matter what the academic subject or extra-curricular activity, educators are afforded the opportunity to develop good character in their students on a daily basis by intentionally selecting character-based lessons and activities and by the way they educate their students.
Are schools qualified to teach character education?
Many teachers across the country are being trained in character education through staff development and in-services. Meanwhile, it appears that the nation's schools of education are doing very little to prepare future teachers to be character educators, according to a 1999 study conducted by CEP and the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character at Boston University. The study found that while character education is very strongly supported by the deans of education at the colleges and universities that are training new teachers, very few of the schools are addressing character education during teacher preparation. In order to implement effective initiatives, schools require access to resources and guidance in establishing, maintaining, and assessing their programs.
Defining and Understanding Character Education
Public Support for Character Education
