This course meets all day, every day.
We view character education as the unifying principle at the heart of every division, every classroom, every lunch period. Through this coordination of efforts, positive behaviors become contagious. Students explore the meaning of character through leadership and participation in service opportunities. They are taught that their actions affect themselves, other people and the environment, with both local and global ramifications. Our students come to understand that differences in culture, race, religion, ideology, geography and community lead to the richest form of learning available.
Throughout the course of each day, students are exposed to curricula, discussions, and situations which invoke critical thinking in areas of moral behavior and ethics. Dedicated teachers seek appropriate teachable moments wherein activity and curricular instruction are stopped to allow immediate student analysis of a statement or situation.
The Six Pillars of Character
Students are expected to uphold six key values and receive guidance and support as they endeavor to do so.
1. Trustworthiness
The most complex of the six core ethical values, trustworthiness incorporates a variety of tangential qualities: honesty, integrity, reliability and loyalty.
2. Respect
To embody respect requires that we treat all people with dignity. It prohibits violence, humiliation, manipulation and exploitation. It reflects notions such as civility, courtesy, decency, dignity, autonomy, and tolerance.
3. Responsibility
To be responsible is to take ownership of our choices and requires that we be accountable, that we pursue excellence and that we practice self-restraint.
4. Fairness
We adhere to a balanced standard of justice without relevance to our own feelings or inclinations.
5. Caring
This is the heart of ethics and ethical decision-making.
6. Citizenship
Civic virtues and duties prescribe how we ought to behave as part of a community.
We know our character when we:
Learn to wait our turn to hold the baby duckling;
Practice the trumpet for the sake of the band;
Choose the new student for a lab partner rather than a best friend;
Take more pride in a hard-fought B than an easy A;
Make eye contact;
Listen.
Reading for Families
A Call to Character: A Family Treasury of Stories, Poems, Plays, Proverbs, and Fables to Guide the Development of Values for You and Your Children
by Colin Greer
Using the best of children’s literature, Greer highlights the values of courage, integrity, honesty, generosity, compassion, idealism, and love.
Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Imagination
by Vigen Guroian
An exploration of how fairy tales and fantasies help to enhance the affective education of children
Books that Build Character: A Guide to Teaching Your Child Moral Values Through Stories
by William Kilpatrick
Organized by reading level, this is a guide to classic novels, contemporary fiction, and other literature that promote various virtues.
The Values Book: Teaching Sixteen Basic Values to Young Children
by Pamela Schiller
Ideas to help parents enhance their child’s understanding of such values as tolerance, cooperation, patience, and honesty