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Teaching Character Education
Nedra Call, Curriculum Coordinator, Nebo School District
Integrating Character Education in the ClassroomCharacter is all about making choices. There is nothing that defines one’s character so much as the choices one makes. Neither is there anything that so completely determines one’s destiny. Character education is all about teaching young people how to make responsible choices and helping them to develop the internal controls necessary to make those choices. As such, character education must do more than impart information, it must also inspire and strengthen students to act nobly—even when every inducement conspires to encourage them to act otherwise. This is the point at which character is manifest, for in these circumstances, if the will to act nobly does not exist within, it does not exist at all. But, what does teaching character education have to do with teaching math,english, history, science, art, music or other subjects we teach in school? The Role of Character Education in Public SchoolsIf there is any justification in the use of public monies to provide universal education, it is to prepare young people to be good citizens, and good citizenship involves much more than achieving a specific level of literacy or technical competence. Benjamin Franklin, in writing about the Persians who taught virtue as a liberal art or science in their public schools, declared that the ability to govern one’s passions in spite of temptation, to be just in one’s dealings, and to be temperate in one’s pleasures were qualities of far more real advantage to a person than being “master of all the arts and sciences in the world besides.” But how do you teach a child to govern his passions, or to be just and temperate in a public school setting? Where is the opportunity? Where do you get the time or resources? Where does teaching children about such things as virtue and morality fit within the curriculum? Introducing The Seven C’S of Thinking Clearly
The activities and stories in The Seven C’s of Thinking Clearly are all organized around an educational concept I call Character Based Learning. Simply stated, Character Based Learning is learning in which students are learning useful knowledge, acquiring essential virtues, and developing their mental and emotional faculties as part of the same learning experience. As such, each lesson in The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly contains: 1. An Educational Component Tied to Core Curriculum Requirements 2. A Mental and Emotional Development Component designed to help young people develop their thinking skills by providing: 3. A Character Development Component designed to help them develop the Four Virtues of Responsibilty, Self-Respect, Respect for Others and Trustworthiness) The powerful stories and stimulating activities in The Seven C’s of Thinking Clearly all provide opportunities to create character based learning experiences in the classroom. These short, literature rich lessons are curriculum friendly, easy to prepare, and fun to present making it easy to integrate them into your daily routine. |
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Teacher FriendlyCharacter education is far easier to implement when the lessons are easy to slide into your daily routine and are mutually supportive of the academic concepts you are teaching. The stories and activities in The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly are truly teacher friendly. LITERATURE RICH You will also find that the character based learning stratgegies employed in The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly are easily transferrable to other reading materials you are using. As a result, you will find more frequent opportunities to integrate character education in the curriculum. FUN, INTERESTING, AND RELEVANT SHORT, EASY TO PREPARE To review sample lessons from The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly, click on the book icons below. For a synopsis of every lesson in each book go to the Lesson Finder. |
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