Character Education In Our Schools

Character Education in our Schools By Stephanie Ritter, Lauren Scirica & Dani Fogarty

Overview Stephanie- What, How, and Why Lauren- Application in classrooms and schools Dani- Activity and Conclusion

What is Character education? Why is it promoted in schools?

Within the character of the citizen lies the welfare of the nation. ~ Cicero

...nothing is of more importance for the public wealth, than to form and train up youth in wisdom and virtue. ~Benjamin Franklin

Elements of Character Education Direct instruction: specific training/info sharing, recognition of core values Indirect instruction: a comprehensive understanding of these values in relation to peer interactions and relationships. Community building: relationships and caring environments Role Models: adults as role models, modeling good character

Who are these role models?

What messages are they sending?

Whose responsibility is it? "I'm not paid to be a role model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court." - Charles Barkley, 1993 Nike commercial "Charles, you can deny being a role model all you want, but I don't think its your decision to make. We don't choose to be role models. We are chosen. Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one." - Karl Malone, 1993

What messages are our students receiving from the world around them? What messages are we sending in our classrooms?

How does it affect our role as teachers? How do we know it works?

What does the research show? Academic Achievement: High quality Character education programs promote higher academic achievement both immediately and long term. Behavior and Attitudes: South Dakota study: 8,500 students 1998-2000 Students who said they have: Cheated on an exam dropped 30% Teased someone because of race or ethnicity dropped 45% Broken into another's property dropped 50%

Teachers reported better student behavior toward others and authority.

Character Counts The Character Counts! coalition was formed in 1993. It is the most widely used character education program. Some of the organizations that use and support Character Counts! are: * Big Brothers & Sisters * Little League * Amer. Assn. of School Administrators * Natl. Assn. of Elementary School Principals

* AYSO * PTA * Red Cross

Character Counts! is run by the Josephson Institute Mission: To improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior.

Six Pillars of Character Charcter Counts! is based on the "Six Pillars of Character" A. Trustworthiness B. Respect C. Responsibility D. Fairness E. Caring F. citizenship

Six Pillars in the school Character Counts! – Every Friday

Don’t forget to wear your Pillar colors EVERY FRIDAY! Trustworthiness- 3rd grade (Blue) Respect- 5th grade (Yellow) Responsibility- 4th grade (Green) Fairness- Kindergarten (Orange) Caring- 2nd grade (Red) Citizenship-1st grade (Purple)

Character Classics Character Classics from the National Character Education Center includes activities and songs set to classical music about 12 different character traits. Character Classics highlights the character qualities of: Attentiveness, Patience, Truthfulness, Self-control, Kindness, Contentment Perseverance, Dependability, Goodness, Respect, Obedience, Thankfulness.

Great Books to Read

Don't Worry Bear Greg Foley

The Colors of Us Karen Katz

The Crayon Box Talked Shane Derolf

The Band- Aid Chicken Becky Henton

Winston of Churchill One Bear's Battle against Global Warming Jean Davies Okimoto

Trouble Talk Trudy Ludwig

Have you filled a bucket today? By Carol McCloud

I bullied my sister once and felt I had an empty bucket. I learned how good it feels to be a bucket filler instead of a bucket dipper." - Third Grader, Troy, MI

Ask an Expert! Each child has a "pocket" on a bulletin board. The children then brainstorm problems that classmates could help them solve: "finding things," "taking turns," "figuring out tricky words," etc. Each child lists their areas of expertise, then puts the list in his or her pocket. The students study the "Expert Board" to find the experts they need to solve their problems – and never interrupt lessons. Respect, Responsibility, Cooperation

Students get inspired about character

Winning Video from Character Counts!

These special weeks and days are important, but we need to remember to include character in our classroom...

EVERYDAY!

Easy Ideas for Implementing Character Education Hang pictures of heroes and heroines in halls or classrooms. Institute a student tutoring program. Promote service clubs with real missions for the school community. Bring recent high school graduates to talk about their successful transitions to college, work, or the military. Invite local adults in to talk about how they have integrated the concept of character into their adult lives. Choose a personal motto and share it with your students. Teach students how to write thank-you notes. As a class, write thank-you notes to people who have done thoughtful things for the students. Start a pen pal exchange between your students and students from a distant state or country.

Remember- When you permit, you promote! What Should You Do Create a classroom community of learners by promoting kindness and fairness. Discourage put downs and name calling Model good behavior and conduct for your students Reward and discipline students equally Develop classroom guidelines and rules with student input Involve the community & families

Most importantly... BELIEVE IN YOUR STUDENTS & YOURSELF!

Results from a survey conducted by Character Counts . . The Ethics of American Youth

Is it important for me to be a person with good charachter?

Most adults in my life consistantly set examples of good character . .

A person has to lie and cheat sometimes to succeed . .

How many times have you done this in the past year?

Lied to a parent about something significant . .

Lied to a teacher about something significant?

Stole something from a store . .

How many questions did you answer with honesty?

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes on Character . . " The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically . . . Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." " I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Creating a lesson around character Teaching your students how to have good character

Activity . . list of possible character traits (some scenarios can have more than one trait )

trustworthiness some respect responsiblity citizenship honesty integrity

We need to embrace Character Development in all aspects of our lives . .

Bibliography http://www.ethicsusa.com/

Jospehson Institute, (2009). Character Counts!Character Education Program. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from Character Counts! Web site: http://charactercounts.org/ National Character Education Center, (2009). Character Classics. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from National Character Education Center Web site: http://www.ethicsusa.com/cclassics.cfm http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-5/character.htm

U.S Department of Education, Ed.gov. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from Character Education Web site: http: //www.ed.gov/admins/lead/character/edpicks.jhtml?src=ln Life Skills, Utah State Office of Education, Curriculum. Retrieved April 26, 2009, Web site: http://www. schools.utah.gov/curr/lifeskills/Char_Ed.htm WiseSkills Character Education Curriculum Retrieved April 26, 2009, from http://www.wiseskills. com/aboutwiseskills.html Boyd, Tamsen J. “Kids With Character,” Teaching K-8 Magazine. August/September, 2004. Pg. 62. Character Counts! Character development seminars training material, 2002, 2003. Tab 17, pg 5-9.

Westwood Elementary School, Westwood news. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from The character road Web site: http://www.fisdk12.net/ww/ww_characteroad.html

Bibliography Continued... Center for the 4th and 5th Rs: Respect and Responsibility. Retrieved April 27, 2009, Web site: http://www.cortland. edu/character/articles/history2.html

To view this presentation in more detail, please visit: www.pathtoteaching.blogspot.com

Overview Stephanie- What, How, and Why Lauren- Application in classrooms and schools Dani- Activity and Conclusion

What is Character education? Why is it promoted in schools?

Within the character of the citizen lies the welfare of the nation. ~ Cicero

...nothing is of more importance for the public wealth, than to form and train up youth in wisdom and virtue. ~Benjamin Franklin

Elements of Character Education Direct instruction: specific training/info sharing, recognition of core values Indirect instruction: a comprehensive understanding of these values in relation to peer interactions and relationships. Community building: relationships and caring environments Role Models: adults as role models, modeling good character

Who are these role models?

What messages are they sending?

Whose responsibility is it? "I'm not paid to be a role model. I'm paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court." - Charles Barkley, 1993 Nike commercial "Charles, you can deny being a role model all you want, but I don't think its your decision to make. We don't choose to be role models. We are chosen. Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one." - Karl Malone, 1993

What messages are our students receiving from the world around them? What messages are we sending in our classrooms?

How does it affect our role as teachers? How do we know it works?

What does the research show? Academic Achievement: High quality Character education programs promote higher academic achievement both immediately and long term. Behavior and Attitudes: South Dakota study: 8,500 students 1998-2000 Students who said they have: Cheated on an exam dropped 30% Teased someone because of race or ethnicity dropped 45% Broken into another's property dropped 50%

Teachers reported better student behavior toward others and authority.

Character Counts The Character Counts! coalition was formed in 1993. It is the most widely used character education program. Some of the organizations that use and support Character Counts! are: * Big Brothers & Sisters * Little League * Amer. Assn. of School Administrators * Natl. Assn. of Elementary School Principals

* AYSO * PTA * Red Cross

Character Counts! is run by the Josephson Institute Mission: To improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior.

Six Pillars of Character Charcter Counts! is based on the "Six Pillars of Character" A. Trustworthiness B. Respect C. Responsibility D. Fairness E. Caring F. citizenship

Six Pillars in the school Character Counts! – Every Friday

Don’t forget to wear your Pillar colors EVERY FRIDAY! Trustworthiness- 3rd grade (Blue) Respect- 5th grade (Yellow) Responsibility- 4th grade (Green) Fairness- Kindergarten (Orange) Caring- 2nd grade (Red) Citizenship-1st grade (Purple)

Character Classics Character Classics from the National Character Education Center includes activities and songs set to classical music about 12 different character traits. Character Classics highlights the character qualities of: Attentiveness, Patience, Truthfulness, Self-control, Kindness, Contentment Perseverance, Dependability, Goodness, Respect, Obedience, Thankfulness.

Great Books to Read

Don't Worry Bear Greg Foley

The Colors of Us Karen Katz

The Crayon Box Talked Shane Derolf

The Band- Aid Chicken Becky Henton

Winston of Churchill One Bear's Battle against Global Warming Jean Davies Okimoto

Trouble Talk Trudy Ludwig

Have you filled a bucket today? By Carol McCloud

I bullied my sister once and felt I had an empty bucket. I learned how good it feels to be a bucket filler instead of a bucket dipper." - Third Grader, Troy, MI

Ask an Expert! Each child has a "pocket" on a bulletin board. The children then brainstorm problems that classmates could help them solve: "finding things," "taking turns," "figuring out tricky words," etc. Each child lists their areas of expertise, then puts the list in his or her pocket. The students study the "Expert Board" to find the experts they need to solve their problems – and never interrupt lessons. Respect, Responsibility, Cooperation

Students get inspired about character

Winning Video from Character Counts!

These special weeks and days are important, but we need to remember to include character in our classroom...

EVERYDAY!

Easy Ideas for Implementing Character Education Hang pictures of heroes and heroines in halls or classrooms. Institute a student tutoring program. Promote service clubs with real missions for the school community. Bring recent high school graduates to talk about their successful transitions to college, work, or the military. Invite local adults in to talk about how they have integrated the concept of character into their adult lives. Choose a personal motto and share it with your students. Teach students how to write thank-you notes. As a class, write thank-you notes to people who have done thoughtful things for the students. Start a pen pal exchange between your students and students from a distant state or country.

Remember- When you permit, you promote! What Should You Do Create a classroom community of learners by promoting kindness and fairness. Discourage put downs and name calling Model good behavior and conduct for your students Reward and discipline students equally Develop classroom guidelines and rules with student input Involve the community & families

Most importantly... BELIEVE IN YOUR STUDENTS & YOURSELF!

Results from a survey conducted by Character Counts . . The Ethics of American Youth

Is it important for me to be a person with good charachter?

Most adults in my life consistantly set examples of good character . .

A person has to lie and cheat sometimes to succeed . .

How many times have you done this in the past year?

Lied to a parent about something significant . .

Lied to a teacher about something significant?

Stole something from a store . .

How many questions did you answer with honesty?

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes on Character . . " The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically . . . Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." " I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Creating a lesson around character Teaching your students how to have good character

Activity . . list of possible character traits (some scenarios can have more than one trait )

trustworthiness some respect responsiblity citizenship honesty integrity

We need to embrace Character Development in all aspects of our lives . .

Bibliography http://www.ethicsusa.com/

Jospehson Institute, (2009). Character Counts!Character Education Program. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from Character Counts! Web site: http://charactercounts.org/ National Character Education Center, (2009). Character Classics. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from National Character Education Center Web site: http://www.ethicsusa.com/cclassics.cfm http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-5/character.htm

U.S Department of Education, Ed.gov. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from Character Education Web site: http: //www.ed.gov/admins/lead/character/edpicks.jhtml?src=ln Life Skills, Utah State Office of Education, Curriculum. Retrieved April 26, 2009, Web site: http://www. schools.utah.gov/curr/lifeskills/Char_Ed.htm WiseSkills Character Education Curriculum Retrieved April 26, 2009, from http://www.wiseskills. com/aboutwiseskills.html Boyd, Tamsen J. “Kids With Character,” Teaching K-8 Magazine. August/September, 2004. Pg. 62. Character Counts! Character development seminars training material, 2002, 2003. Tab 17, pg 5-9.

Westwood Elementary School, Westwood news. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from The character road Web site: http://www.fisdk12.net/ww/ww_characteroad.html

Bibliography Continued... Center for the 4th and 5th Rs: Respect and Responsibility. Retrieved April 27, 2009, Web site: http://www.cortland. edu/character/articles/history2.html

To view this presentation in more detail, please visit: www.pathtoteaching.blogspot.com