New Lesson Plans Enhance Three R's; Character-building increasingly is becoming part of the curriculum in U.S. schools as educators strive to mold both the hearts and minds of American young people

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 30, 2003

What's the best way to educate for character? "The best approach is a comprehensive one," says Lickona, who has made a lifetime study of the subject and whose next book, Character Matters, will be published by Touchstone in February 2004. In that book he describes "20 ways schools have partnered with parents to promote character development."

If "comprehensive" sounds very general and a bit vague, Lickona points out that what we regard as good character is a whole way of life that has to be approached broadly and comprehensively. "If we define character as including the performance virtues of diligence, self-discipline, effort, perseverance [and] doing one's best, then character education becomes all those educational

processes that contribute to developing that full range of human virtues," he explains. "[Abraham] Lincoln captured the importance of performance character when he said, 'Whatever you are, be a good one.'"

What does a comprehensive approach mean in practice? It means, Lickona says, developing "a learning community in which students feel responsible not only for treating others well but also for developing their talents and doing their best." It's no simple task to turn a whole school into such a learning community. It means making character education an intimate, inseparable part of the fabric of the everyday life of each student, but anything short of this comprehensive approach is unlikely to work in Lickona's opinion.

"Many schools say, 'We don't have time for character education because of all the academic pressures,'" he warns. But it can be dangerous to separate academic life from character development. A quote from Theodore Roosevelt on the center's Website sums up this danger: "To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society." Lickona adds, stressing the importance of educating the whole man and woman, "The broader conception of character education recognizes that in our lives, our work whatever that might be gives direction and purpose to our lives and is one of the primary ways we contribute to the lives of others and make a difference in the world."

When a school develops the strong sense of community conducive to the development of good character, says Lickona, students will answer positively and enthusiastically questions such as whether "students in this school care about each other" and "I feel I can talk to the teachers in this school about the things that are bothering me."

Numerous studies prove the importance of Lickona's emphasis on community. Among elementary-school students, for example, researchers have found that the stronger a school's sense of community, the more the students are likely to like the school and the higher their academic self-esteem. There also is less use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana.

For older students, those in grades seven through 12, research has identified two "protective factors" that help shield teens from undesirable and self-destructive behaviors. First, and this comes as no surprise, is family connectedness. But second is a feeling of close connectedness with teachers and fellow students at school.