0.1 Character education: a critical analysis; robert tatman, stacey  (Page 14/16)

Teaching faculty possessing such character and morals would be in the position to positively impact their students regarding the same.

Goals for the school

Ryan (2003) noted that educators need to create a school culture of character, and that those cultures must be created, and that cultures consist of the “embodiment of the rules, procedures, mores, and expectations of a community’s people” (¶ 13). Part of creating that character of culture, besides the strong mandate to teachers to facilitate students acquiring both core moral and civic values, includes a clear and well-articulated mission statement, the institution of a school language of character, and utilizing the character-integrated curriculum (Ryan, 2003). “The issues of character and civility are not merely esoteric or an add-on to the curriculum, like driver’s education. They are central to our mission and to our very survival as an institution and a society” (Houston, 1998, Builders of Society section, ¶ 2).

Summary

Ryan’s (2003) suggested that if schools would take back their responsibility to help students gain a moral compass and form good habits, then schools could have greater academic achievements and simultaneously meet their responsibilities as educators of students’ character. The promise residing in the education of students’ character is the promise that academic goals can be attained as character goals are accomplished as noted by Ryan (2003):

Teachers must help students see that the hard, often tedious work of school is the stuff of their own character formation…Teachers must confidently make them the promise, however, that while doing this hard work of forging good character, they will be able to achieve the academic goals we have set for them. (¶ 16)

School administrators implementing character education initiatives will find both academic and character goals accomplished.

References

Achen, P. (2004, October 27). Ethics education strives to make character count; Proponents say programs increase discipline and enhance learning. The Houston Chronicle . Retrieved March 30, 2005, from http://web.lexis-nexis.com

Anderson, D. R. (2000). Character education: Who is responsible? Journal of Instructional Psychology, 27 (3), 139-141.

Bennett, W. (1991). Moral literacy and the formation of character. In J. S. Benninga (Ed.), Moral, character, and civic education in the elementary school (pp. 131-138). New York: Teachers College.

Benninga, J. S., Berkowitz, M. W., Kuehn, P.,&Smith, K.(2003). The relationship of character education implementation and academic achievement in elementary schools. Journal of Research in Character Education , 1(1), 19-32.

Benson, P. L., Roehlkepartain, E. C.,&Sesma, A. (2004, March). Tapping the power of community. Search Institute Insights and Evidence, 2 (1), 1-14.

Berkowitz, M. (1999). Building a good person. In M. M. Williams&Schaps (Eds.), Character education: The foundation for teacher education (Report of the Commission on Character Education). Washington, DC: Character Education Partnership / Association of Teacher Educators.