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| The How of Character Education |
| posted by: Alana | September 02, 2016, 08:34 PM |
|
The formation of good character has been an essential part of schooling in America since Colonial times. Our Founding Fathers were great proponents of education because they knew that if their “experiment with democracy” were to survive, this new country needed a virtuous citizenry. The new nation needed schools, not just for literacy and numeracy, but to acquire the moral virtues necessary for a democratic citizenry: among them self-control, consideration of others, perseverance, and a sense of right and wrong. There is also the fact that, for good or ill, character education is inevitable. Schools are moral cauldrons immersed with issues of behaving or not behaving, gossiping or not gossiping, cooperating or not cooperating, being a friend or an enemy. Children and teens are in a malleable stage where their habits and dispositions are being formed. Character education is going to happen. It is the responsibility of educators to do it well.
Over the last thirty years, there has been a rise and fall of character education programs based on these o en competing theories and their promises of real-world results, programs such as values clari cation, self-esteem, behavior modi cation, cognitive moral education, positive psychology, social and emotional education, and several others. Rarely, however, do the modern advocates reveal up front their conception of character and how teachers can actually promote good character.
The Six Es of Character Education Six classroom elements appear to be e ective in bringing about that positive change in students’ characters. They are represented by six words—six Ewords: example, explana- tion, exhortation, ethos, experience, and engagement.
Find out more about the six Es of education by reading the full article in this month's edition of our flagship monthly newsletter, Education Matters.
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