America’s Schools Need Character Education

A question that often finds itself as the focus of curriculum debates and school planning discussions is that of moral and character development. Does character development have a place in our schools? Should public schools take the responsibility of educating students on morality? The answer is complex and has a multitude of sides and opinions. In a way, however, schools already educate students on what to believe and how to behave. By excluding the history of the "other" Americans, such as people of color, women, and homosexuals, and focusing instead of the failures and successes of those of European descent, our schools already instill a distinct vision of who and what we are supposed to be. The white Protestant male’s vision of history and view of the world tends to be placed into the text -books and overall teachings of public schools in the United States.

A very real example of this bias can be seen in the teaching of Thanksgiving. A holiday celebrated universally through all religions gives educators in public schools the opportunity to discuss and rejoice in the day with classroom activities and parties. Neglected from the Thanksgiving lesson, however, is the plight of the Native American who lost land and life when the Puritan settlers landed. Although moral education differs from multicultural education, they have points that intertwine. To me, the goals of character and moral education are to open up the minds of children and encourage an acceptance of others different from themselves. One of the most important pieces to moral education is fostering respect. Through development of respect and understanding of difference and humanity in general, perhaps much of the hate and intolerance that occurs in our society pres...

... middle of paper ...

...dence Institute [on-line]. http://i2iorg/Publications/Op-Eds/Education/itselementary.htm

Petrovic, J.E. (1999). Moral Democratic Education and Homosexuality: Censoring Morality.[Electronic Copy] Journal of Moral Education: 28, 201-210.

Pierce, K. (1999). It’s Elementary: The New Gay Public Education Outreach. NLJ On-Line. http://www.liberty.edu/chancellor/nlj/July1999/Gay1.htm.

Simonds, F. (2001). CEE Strategy. Citizens for Excellence in Education [on-line]. http://www.webcom.com/webcee/ceestrategy.htm.

Stoltenberg, J. (1989). Refusing to Be A Man: Essays on Sex and Justice. London: UCL Press.

Teaching Tolerance Project. (1997). Starting Small: Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades. Montgomery, Alabama: Southern Poverty Law Center.

Teaching Tolerance. (2001). Ten Ways to Fight Hate. [on-line]. http://www.Tolerance .org/10_ways/teach/index.html