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 * AYSO

* Amer. Assn. of School Administrators * PTA
* Natl. Assn. of Elementary School Principals * 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

Winston of Churchill Trouble Talk

The Band- Aid Chicken One Bear's Battle against Trudy Ludwig
Becky Henton Global Warming
Jean Davies Okimoto
 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 * AYSO

* Amer. Assn. of School Administrators * PTA
* Natl. Assn. of Elementary School Principals * 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

Winston of Churchill Trouble Talk

The Band- Aid Chicken One Bear's Battle against Trudy Ludwig
Becky Henton Global Warming
Jean Davies Okimoto
 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