Educating for Character: How Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility

Step 1: Assess Your Current Reality

At County High School, we are starting to see an alarming trend that is starting to affect the success of our student’s academic achievement, a decline in moral character. In high school, we are so worried about what a student knows on a standardized state test that we forget to teach them how to be a well-rounded person. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “To educate a person in mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.” (Lickona, 1991, p. 4) The school has seen a 30% increase in discipline referrals about cheating, disrespect, and inappropriate behavior over the last five years. “Behaviors such as lying, stealing, not performing well in school, skipping class, or exhibiting general disruptive actions are fairly common among teens.” (Chen, 2013, p. 1) The lack of character that these students are coming in with is starting to affect all aspects of the campus; the athletic programs and the fine arts programs. In the past two years, two basketball players were suspended from school and kicked off the team for marijuana use before they entered school on a school day, two baseball players were excused from the baseball program for sneaking and drinking vodka on the school bus before a baseball game, and four girl soccer players were disciplined for leaving the school they were competing at, without permission, to go to Target to get snacks while they wait for their contest. These athletes are supposed to represent the school in a positive, leadership capacity and promote our school so that future athletes will want to attend. If our athletes are acting in this manner, one can imagine how the rest of the student population behaves on campus.

What needs to be done is to...

... middle of paper ...

...lement this program campus-wide, which will help with the cost of the program. Piloting a new program will allow us to create lessons and handouts that work and try new teaching techniques, and allow the staff to have dialogue with each other on successful lessons. Piloting a new program will be exciting, but it will take a lot of work and time to try new ideas and lessons, but if the program works like it is designed to, then the results will all be worth it.

Works Cited

Chen, G (2008). Dealing with Behavioral Issues in Middle and High School. Public School Policies. Retrieved from http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/49

Likona, T. (1991). Educating for Character: How schools can teach respect and responsibility. New York: Bantam Books.

Williamson, R., & Blackburn, B. R. (2010). Supporting Student Learning. Principal Leadership, 10(8), 65-67.