Giving kids a moral compass

Home and school: Although 5-year-old Jack Crane (right, with sister August, 2) receives character education training as a kindergartener at Battlefield Primary School in Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga., parents April and Darryl Crane consider themselves primarily responsible for instilling good habits and values in their children. The Cranes teach both their children that “whatever good you do affects everyone, and whatever bad you do affects everyone.”

The character they keep

By Janis Hashe

Photo by Julie Hogue

“Character” is a word we often use, and in our own minds, we know what we mean by it when we say, “He’s a person of strong character,” or, “The situation really demonstrated her character.”

Over the past couple of decades, many American school districts have implemented “character education” programs, responding to a perceived need for children to learn about traits such as honesty, integrity and perseverance as part of their school day.

In 1998, representatives of the Benwood and Maclellan Foundations approached the Hamilton County School District with the idea of funding a start-up program in character education. Then-Superintendent of Schools Jesse Register approached Nancy Reed, who had worked with Philip Vincent, EdD, director of the North Carolina-based Character Development Group. Reed agreed to head up the fledgling program, and today is the director of special programs for Hamilton County Schools.

Chattanooga Parent spoke with her about the ongoing program.
“More than 30 states now mandate character education,” Reed told us. “Our program incorporates some of the principles taught by Dr. Vincent, as well as Dr. Thomas Lickona [developmental psychologist, professor of education at the State University of New York at Cortland, and director of the Center for the Fourth and Fifth Rs (Respect and Responsibility)], and Dr. Hal Urban [teacher and author of The Ten Commandments of Common Sense].

“We believe that once a teacher sets up the rules of conduct in his or her classroom, and the principal sets them up for his or her building, other things fall into place,” Reed says. “Our program is designed for all children, and recognizes and honors students of all academic levels. It can be wonderful for a parent of a special-needs child to see his child honored for self-discipline, for example.”

Ten character traits are taught throughout the district in grades K through 12, one for each month, September through May. These include respect, responsibility, perseverance, caring, self-discipline, citizenship, honesty, courage and fairness. Teachers incorporate these traits into their classrooms in various ways, and the district provides handouts with suggestions for both teachers and parents.

“100 Ways to Promote Character Education”, for example, suggests that teachers “Create a code of behavior for your classroom (and school) to which students and teachers agree” and “Treat ethical issues like other intellectual issues—get the facts, gather evidence, weigh consequences, make a decision.” Parents receive handouts such as “21 Strategies to Help Your Children Develop Good Character,” which offers recommendations such as “Model and teach your children good manners” and “Set clear expectations for your children and hold them accountable for their actions.”

April and Darryl Crane are parents to 5-year-old Golden Jackson (“Jack”) and 2-year-old August. Jack is now a kindergartner at Battlefield Primary School in Ft. Oglethorpe. The Cranes are supportive of the character education information Jack receives, though, says Darryl, “We both have a sense that this is our responsibility.” Concurs April, “I am a hands-on parent, and it’s up to me to teach character development.” The Cranes teach both their children that “whatever good you do affects everyone, and whatever bad you do affects everyone.”

For example, Darryl says, he once saw Jack doing something he wasn’t supposed to do, and when confronted, Jack lied about it. “I asked him again, and he lied again,” says Darryl. “So I told him, ‘We were all going to go to Buddy Bear’s, and now we aren’t. You aren’t going, I’m not going, and your sister is not going.”
Jack “felt really bad,” says his father. “He went up to his sister, gave her a hug and said, ‘I’m so sorry.’”

Evaluating what works

Last year, the Hamilton County program received a $2 million, four-year federal grant, part of which will be used to study the character education program’s effectiveness.  Reed notes that the district’s program has received national recognition, and that each June, approximately 600 educators come to Chattanooga from all over the country to attend a conference featuring 40 break-out sessions on topics such as conflict resolution and bullying. “No tax dollars pay for this event; we raise the money from local businesses,” Reed explains. “And we are able to send about 90 of our own educators free of charge.”
John Roddy is president of the Georgia nonprofit Center for Understanding School Policy. CUSP partners with the for-profit B-ROW (Basic Right Over Wrong), whose character education program is currently being used in 25 Georgia elementary schools.

Like Reed, he points to the decline in the teaching of what was once known as “civics” as part of the stimulus for schools’ adoption of character education programs.

“Public schools have been reluctant to teach anything centered on values, because the question arises, ‘Whose values?’’ he says. The B-ROW program includes both a teacher-training and parent-training program, “teaching teachers how to integrate it into the curriculum so it doesn’t become an add-on,” Roddy says.

CUSP is in the process of partnering with the University of Georgia to evaluate the effectiveness of B-ROW. “However, we have already been able to document lower suspension and drop-out rates, and higher levels of volunteerism by students,” Roddy says.

In 2002, Sandra Sheldon founded the nonprofit StrengthBank in Ft. Worth, Texas. The former high school English teacher had decided, “We’d lost parenting,” and she was critical of some of the character education programs she’d encountered. StrengthBank, she explains, was developed “as a process, not a program,” and emphasizes “strategies learned in and experienced with others…For example, from being respected, students learn to respect; from receiving help, students learn to give help, from being heard, students learn to listen.”

“The mantra,” she says, “is ‘We need one another, and we need each other to be exactly as each of us is designed.’”
Sheldon realizes that teachers often are working with children who come from fractured and emotionally strained families. “Character takes effort,” she says, “but we teach kids that they can be something beyond an extremely dysfunctional family situation.”

She attributes much of StrengthBank’s success to its active mentorship component. “You cannot throw money at this problem,” she says. “You have to become involved in it personally.” Schools using the StrengthBank system have seen suspension rates drop as much as 20 percent, she says.

For the Cranes, it all comes back to an early establishment of good and frequent communication with your child. “If I could grab any parent and tell them one thing, it would be to talk with your child,” says Darryl Crane. “Integrity is big with us,” says April. “We teach, and try to model, that it is very important that other people can count on you, and trust you to do what is right.”

“I would see it as more parallel with religious instruction. Any person of any religion, or no religion at all, can show honesty, responsibility, caring, respect, and so on.”
Sheila Thompson Albritton

“Catching children before they ‘know it all’ is essential!”
Shelia Thompson Albritton

The Cranes teach both their children that “whatever good you do affects everyone, and whatever bad you do affects everyone.”

Another parent’s view

We asked Sheila Thompson Albritton, the director of career services and counseling center for Chattanooga State and parent of three, to offer her thoughts about the impact of character education.

Chattanooga Parent: Why do you feel there is a need for character education in schools?

Sheila Thompson Albritton: I feel the basics are not being taught at home, so the schools want to help fill the gap. Teachers experience the result of dishonesty, disrespect, not caring, not taking responsibility, and so on. As parents, we are only dealing with our own children—not 30 children. It is very difficult for teachers to establish a proper learning environment when the behavioral basics are nonexistent.

How do you see character education being implemented in schools?

Remembering back when my children were in middle school…each month there would be a student of the month who represented the trait of the month. This was true for every grade. It made quite an impact on the children (I had three kids in middle school).
The kids were very aware of the character traits and knew what they meant. They would have to show an example of the trait at home, as well. It was some kind of game or competition, with a lot of attention being placed on being a good person, classmate and citizen.

How should parents be supporting what’s being taught in school?

Character traits were taught in our home from the beginning. It is very important to me that children understand and take responsibility for themselves. I expect honesty, fairness and respect in everything they do. We have high standards in our home, and when these traits began being reinforced in school, that was just a bonus!

How effective do you feel character education programs are?

Some schools do it better than others. I asked one of my kids what they did in high school and I didn’t get an answer—only a shrug. Our experience is that high schools don’t focus on the traits as much as elementary and middle schools. The posters were hung at the high school, and it was obvious that some kids grew up with higher expectations than others—it showed in how they interacted with teachers, coaches and parents.

I go back to my kids’ middle-school years. They were expected to discuss the traits with us (the parents) and show us an example of the “trait of the month.” It was pretty cute. I was thrilled with the whole concept, because it reinforced what we were teaching at home and vice-versa.

What makes a character education program effective, in your view?

Key elements in making this program effective begin with awareness and communication. Reinforcing the positives and holding students accountable for their actions is important. Role-playing and actually showing students the better ways of handling situations is quite effective. Just saying the words doesn’t always hit the mark. Beginning in the younger years and enforcing strong character trait behavior will promote a more effective learning environment in the future. Catching children before they “know it all” is essential!

Do you feel that character education ever crosses the line into religious instruction?

I would see it as more parallel with religious instruction. Any person of any religion, or no religion at all, can show honesty, responsibility, caring, respect, and so on. It’s more fundamental core values. I have known persons with “no” religion to be fair, respectful, show courage, and have perseverance…Therefore, I see character education as a primary foundation for persons of all ages, races and creeds.