So, how do we define character education?
Character education is a comprehensive school-based approach that includes an intentional focus on promoting character, virtue formation and ethical decision making through school curriculum, ethos, activities and engagement with family and community. Educators lead, teach, serve and learn with character to promote individual and collective flourishing. Character education aims to develop and strengthen virtues and moral decision making because practical wisdom in self and others cultivates a society where all can live well in a world worth living in.
Character education is not meant to be a means to an end. The purpose is not to help others develop virtues only to fix their mindsets or behaviors, to increase their academic potential, or push an agenda. Surely, being a person of character may impact these, but this is not the sole purpose. The goal of character education is to help individuals and society flourish.
Character education is not just about skills and behaviors, but about a moral grounding in decision making and using practical wisdom. Too much or too little of any virtue can be harmful. For example, a character education program without a moral compass might focus on teaching resilience, but resiliency can be used in excess such as in criminals who continue to commit crimes. Instead, individuals must find the golden mean of our virtues and use that to guide us in making the right choice in an ethical situation.
Character education has a place in the culture and functions of families, classrooms, schools and other institutions. Every organization must determine their mission and vision pertaining to character education, including which virtues they value and how they’ll define them with stakeholder input. Then, they work together to model and teach the core virtues. Modeling and teaching the core virtues should be part of the school culture, the assemblies, hallways, behavior approach, curriculum, after school activities, parent communications, staff professional learning and all other aspects of the school.
Students should be provided with opportunities to learn about the virtues and virtuous action, be provided opportunities to practice the virtues, and seek opportunities for developing their character. It’s about helping students grasp what’s ethically important and teaching them how to act for the right reasons, so they become more autonomous and reflective in the practice of virtue.