Purdue News

May 16, 2000 Purdue helps teachers put character education in the classroom Lynn R. Nelson "Development of character is a solution to social problems and a worthy educational ideal," wrote English philosopher John Stuart Mills more than 200 years ago. With school violence on the rise and a baffled society wondering what to do to curb this trend, his observation is just as true today as it was then. Yet, character education remains extracurricular rather than central to a young person's education. Too often schools concentrate on tangible learning goals, the kind that can be easily tested and graded. This tends to result in the quality of an education being judged by standardized tests, and the best school districts, the best schools, and the best teachers are routinely ranked by those tests. Character development, which is nearly impossible to measure in a quantitative form, is not taken into consideration. However, attitudes are changing. Educators, as well as businesses and industries, recognize today more than ever the importance of character education. It is heartening to see many school districts implement character development programs, because good values and a strong commitment to civic programs are crucial to each student's future and the future of our society. Some Indiana schools already are implementing such programs. For example, more than 100 fourth- through ninth-grade teachers, graduates of Purdue's Ackerman Summer Institute through the Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship, have founded projects that teach students how to get actively involved in their communities. Sheri Johnson, a 1998 enrollee in the program, and her fourth-grade class at Happy Hollow Elementary School in West Lafayette have participated in a number of worthwhile programs. Last year, her students collected winter coats for the "Coats for Kids" drive. Students also planted tree seedlings and Indiana prairie flower seeds for the prairie restoration effort at Prophetstown State Park in Tippecanoe County. Alan Selge, an eighth-grade U.S. history teacher at Knox Middle School in Knox, Ind., makes character education an integral part of his U.S. history class. Students in his class are faced with actual events and must make choices about important historical events, such as the outbreak of the Civil War or America's involvement in World War I. Selge lets the students see the consequences of their decisions, and they are given the opportunity to study the actual events as they unfolded. He says it gives the students the opportunity to compare their decisions with America's leaders, and to comprehend the ethics and morals behind those decisions. Martha Ball of the Butler Middle School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah and a 1999 alum of the program, was named the U.S. American History Teacher of the Year by the National Society of The Daughters of the American Revolution. She established the Three R's Project in her schoolstanding for "Rights, Responsibility and Respect," a project aimed at instilling civic awareness in children. It isn't difficult for a school or individual teacher to establish character development programs, but it does require time and the support of the principal and the school board. Character development programs at the elementary classroom level can be activities as simple as keeping journals on ways to help others, reading stories about inspiring individuals such as Mother Teresa or Colin Powell, or participating in a canned-food drive for a the community food pantry. Students at secondary levels can improve their civic awareness by volunteering in local food pantries, shoveling snow from the driveway of an elderly person, making a commitment to keep a highway clear of litter, or planting trees after a heavy wind or ice storm. Of course, schools cannot shoulder the entire responsibility of instilling good character in the minds of young people. Other factors, such as family involvement, peers and neighborhoods, have equal or perhaps greater importance. But schools can contribute to making the student an active participant in his or her community and they can help young people understand the responsibility that comes with being a member of a community. Teachers interested in implementing such programs or in the June 18 to July 1, 2000 Ackerman Summer Institute can receive more detailed information by contacting the Ackerman Center at (765) 494-4755. Lynn Nelson is a professor in curriculum and instruction and director of the James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship at Purdue University. To the Purdue News and Photos Page