Franklin's Philosophy of Life
in His Own Words
312 Pages
Do You Make These Mistakes In
Teaching Character Education Lessons?
Mistake One
Not Making Character Education Lessons a Priority
Teaching character education infrequently or inconsistenly in schools usually happens because:
 |
The schedule is too full. There's not time to add anything else into the day much less time to prepare additional lessons |
|
There is no money in our budget for additional curriculum resources. |
|
There is not enough interest or support from parents for a character education program in our school. |
While these are valid concerns, they are supported by invalid assumptions.
Assumption OneTeaching Character Education Lessons is of lesser importance than teaching Math, English, Reading and other basic curriculum subjects. Two of the early advocates of Public Education, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson had the following to say on the subject. "It is said that the Persians, in their constitution, had public schools in which virtue was taught as a liberal art or science, and it is certainly of more consequence to a man that he has learnt to govern his passions in spite of temptation, to be just in his dealings, to be temperate in his pleasures, to support himself with fortitude under misfortune, to behave with prudence in all his affairs and every circumstance of life, I say, it is of much more real advantage to him to be thus qualified, than to be master of all the arts and sciences in the world besides." Benjamin Franklin's The Art of Virtue, page 21 In his notes on the State of Virgina published in 1785, Jefferson proposed that Virginia be divided into Counties and in each of them, establish a public school "for teaching reading, writing and arithmetic"and in which, "the first elements of morality too may be instilled into their minds: such as, when further developed as their judgments advance in strength, may teach them how to work out their own greatest happiness, by showing them that it does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed them, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation and freedom in all just pursuits. . ." |
Assumption Two: The teaching of character education and teaching reading, writing and arithmetic are competetive endeavors competing for scarce resources in both time and money—Not true when employing the character based learning strategies utilized in "The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly." |
Assumption Three: It is difficult to believe parents would not wholly support any efforts on the part of the school to improve student performance. You ask, "How would teaching character education improve student performance?"
|
Mistake Two - Focusing on Symptoms Rather Than Causes
When we focus on teaching concepts like responsibility, respect and honesty, we are really addressing the symptoms—irresponsibility, disrespect and dishonesty. Because these behaviors are readily observable to us, we tend to think of them as the problem when, in reality, they are merely symptoms of the problem. The root cause behind these behaviors lies in the mind, not in the actions of the individual. |
Charles Darwin provided some important insight on this when he wrote in The Descent of Man
"The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. . .What ever makes any bad action familiar to the mind, renders its performance so much the easier."
Perhaps a sample activity from "The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly can illustrate this point.
If your students understand the ABC Sequence, they will be able to recognize its operation in every story they read, both factual and fictional. More importantly, they will be better able to predict its influence in choices they make. To view this lesson click on the picture or the following link. The ABC Sequence
Character Based Learning and "The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly"
“Our district has used many character education programs
as part of the regular curriculum, but this one is the best we have found so far. The characters become real to the students as they readily identify with the characteristics they see as most desirable for their own behaviors.”
Nedra Call, Curriculum Coordinator, Nebo School District
Hello, I’m George Rogers,
The Seven C’s of Thinking Clearly is a set of resource books containing an invaluable collection of fun, short, easy to prepare lessons designed to facilitate integrating character education in the curriculum.
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:
|
An Educational Component tied to core curriculum standards |
|
A Mental and Emotional Development Component designed to help students develop their emotional, social and thinking skills |
|
A Character Development Component designed to help students develop the virtues of responsibility, 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.
What Teachers Are Saying “The imaginative activities and examples make the teaching fun and that’s when teachers and students get excited.” “The books are very 'teacher friendly.' The stories can easily be integrated into an existing curriculum, adding a broader perspective and teaching of life skills while teaching what is required in state core. The other thing I like about these books is that they can be used for any subject area and are a great resource for ESL and special needs.” classrooms. “Extremely appropriate for my students. Skills they are lacking and need desperately. They stayed involved and were able to participate" "The students were very attentive. They enjoyed the subject matter and were able to bring their own experiences into the discussion and relate to it." R. Tiffany, Highland Elementary “My students surprised me with their depth of feeling and comments." |
||
Teacher Friendly
Character 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
The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly contains a rich literature base consisting of both fictional stories and biographical sketches. Many of the biographical sketches are of people who made important choices while yet in early childhood that influenced the future course of their lives. These are powerful stories that can easily fit in with most any reading objectives you are trying to achieve. More importantly, they contain important ideas that can positively influence how young people view themselves and the world they live in.
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
The stories and activities in The Seven C's of Thinking Clearly are fun and interesting to students. They are fun because they involve doing things young people like to do, but they are not cotton candy. They contain serious lessons that are directly relevant to choices your students are required to make on a daily basis, even in the classroom.
SHORT, EASY TO PREPARE
These are "ready, set, go" lessons that are mostly self-contained and require little preparation. In addition, the lessons are both collapsible and expandable, meaning they can be presented in 5 to 10 minutes or expanded into longer discussions giving you control of both the frequency and amount of time you spend on any given lesson. This allows you to focus on the needs of your class in determining what principles you teach them and when to do so.
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.
“Wow! What a writer! George-you are such a good communicator through poetry and stories.” “Your material is excellent. The genius of your prose open new ideas from old standards. What a great resource collection.” "There was a lot of good material included in this unit (self-respect). We had some good discussions and students shared how the things they learned applied to things they were dealing with in their lives right now." |
Take A Tour of the
|
Special Offer Both Print & eBook Both Print & eBooks |
Take A Tour of the
|
Your 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
"Try these books for 90 days. If you are not completely satisfied, simply return the books with a copy of your sales receipt, and I'll quickly and cheerfully refund your full purchase price, including the amount we billed you for shipping and handling. As you can see, the full risk is mine. I personally don't think it is much of a risk, but you get to be the judge.
Free Mini-CourseTo learn more about character based learning, I invite you to sign up for a free 7 part mini-course titled “An Introduction to Character Based Learning.” It’s a free gift for a limited time and there is no obligation. In addition to the mini-course, you will receive our monthly newsletter titled “Cinch by the Inch” which contains additional tips and sample lessons. You can unsubscribe at any time, but we believe you will find the information invaluable in helping your students develop the social skills they so very much need to learn. Note: your email address will not be sold to, or shared with, any other person or organization. |
The imaginative activities and examples make the teaching fun and that's when teachers and students get excited.
Media Specialist
Eden Prairie, MN
. . .by far the most creative social skills program I have ever reviewed.
School Social Worker
Terre Haute, IN
Extremely appropriate for my students. Skills they are lacking and need desparately. They stayed involved and were able to participate.
Elementary Teacher
Lindon, UT
The students were very attentive. They enjoyed the subject matter and were able to bring their own experiences into the discussion and relate to it.
Elementary Teacher
Highland, UT
I really liked them.
I think it was important.
I liked it. I liked it. I liked it.
3rd Grade Students
Eden Prairie, MN
Free Mini-CourseTo learn more about character based learning, I invite you to sign up for a free 7 part mini-course titled “An Introduction to Character Based Learning.” It’s a free gift for a limited time and there is no obligation. In addition to the mini-course, you will periodically receive additional tips, sample lessons and special offers available only to mini-course subscribers. You can unsubscribe at any time, but we believe you will find the information invaluable in helping your students develop the social skills they so very much need to learn. Note: your email address will not be sold to, or shared with, any other person or organization. |