Often, schools that participate in developing virtuous attitudes create solidarity within school and community. Regular inclusion of character education helps students understand their greater purpose in the community and the importance of giving back to others. Students make connections between their individual roles and responsibility and how it can have a ripple effect on the school culture and community around them. The goal is for students to seek out individual opportunities to contribute to the well-being of others and be more aware of the positive impact they can make in the world around them. Collectively, the learning of character attributes improves the schoolwide attitude and culture, prompting school faculty, staff and students to be intrinsically motivated to be good citizens.
Effectively implementing character education requires a deeper understanding of the virtues, and increasing awareness of how character development can lead to human and societal flourishing is important. You can begin this process in your school community by implementing, modeling and providing opportunities for students to develop their character. In the next few editions of this blog, we will dig deeper into the building blocks of character.
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