0.1 Character education: a critical analysis; robert tatman, stacey  (Page 5/16)

Most baby boomers who grew up in the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s cannot recall reading about, much less experiencing a single shooting incident at an American secondary educational facility…In contrast, consider that the National School Safety Center recorded 236 homicides and suicides on school campuses or school buses between 1992 and 1998 (p. 5).

Understandably, “Most Americans will tell you that character education is a good idea. According to pollsters, 90% of us want schools to teach core moral values” (Matera, 2001, p. 191). Huffman (1993) noted that values education is an intrinsic component of the teaching process for teachers “can’t establish classroom rules, relate to kids, or discuss a piece of literature without communicating values” (p. 24). Teachers convey values by how they treat students and by what they allow in their classrooms. This conveyance of values is especially important because of the connection between moral values and bad behavior. Kilpatrick (1992) cautioned that, “In addition to the fact that Johnny still can’t read, we are now faced with the more serious problem that he can’t tell right from wrong” (p. 14). Thus, Wynne (1986) recommended and called for the “deliberate transmission of moral values to students” (p. 4).

Berkowitz (1999) understood this growing interest to be a character education renaissance because local communities and grass roots parents’ coalitions are imploring schools and civic leaders to support the development of character in our youth. Damon (1998), Lickona (1993), and Wynne and Ryan (1993) all saw character education as a moral mandate to fight the deteriorating state of youth in our society. Educational associations at the national level also endorsed character education in schools. The National Association of Secondary School Principals (1996) noted that schools must boldly and unapologetically teach students about such key virtues such as honesty, dependability, trust, responsibility, tolerance, respect, and other commonly-held values important to Americans.

In the tradition of Dewey, education “defined the business of the educator as being the task of insuring that the ideas acquired by children and youth are so acquired that they become moving ideas, motive forces in the guidance of behavior” (Forisha&Forisha, 1976, p. 12). Ryan (1993) noted that, “While the development of a child’s character is clearly not the sole responsibility of the school, historically and legally schools have been major players in this arena” (p. 16).

Schools by nature nurture moral development because, according to Huffman (1995), “curriculum, teaching methodologies, student-teacher relations, extracurricular activities…are all value-laden” (¶ 5). Value-free schools are therefore impossible.

Important steps taken by schools to educate for character include a focus on disciplinary codes that convey values, classroom rules and curricula where teachers reinforce values, and extracurricular activities in which coaches and sponsors address values through established rules for participants (Huffman, 1995).