The Issue of Character in The United States Public Education System
explanatory Essay
1581 words
Introduction Over the past few decades, the need for character education programs in United States’ schools has been widely debated and become increasingly popular particularly at the elementary level. However, the root of character education in the United States extends back to Horace Mann in the 1840’s who advocated that “character development was as important as academics in American schools” (USDE, 2011, para. 1). In response to the more recent realization of the importance of character education, the U.S. Congress authorized the Partnerships in Character Education Program in 1994; and character education was re-emphasized again in 2001 in the No Child Left Behind Act (USDE, 2011). As a result of the U.S. Department of Education’s goals to “promote strong character and citizenship among our nation’s youth” and increase student achievement, numerous federal resources as well as grants at the state and local levels have been established to assist in the design, implementation, and sustainment of “high-quality opportunities for students to learn and understand the importance of strong character in their lives” (USDE, 2011, para. 9). In addition, President Bush increased funding for character education program implementation in 2003 from $8 million to $25 million following a White House conference including “nationally recognized experts” who met to discuss “the need for and effectiveness of character education programs” (USDE, 2003, pg.1). To date, 18 states currently mandate character education in the Education Code; California is one of them (CEP, 2010). Additionally, of the 41 identified character education interventions listed on the U.S. Department of Education website, 28 have no studies meeting evidence standards, and ... ... middle of paper ... ...acter education research at the high school level is paramount considering the lack of such research correlating any type of character education program with student achievement. References Character Education Partnership. (2010). August 22, 2011 from http://www.character.org/index.cfm. Gay, L.R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. W. (2009) Educational research: Competencies foranalysis and applications. (9th. Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. ISBN-10: 0135035015 U.S. Department of Education. (2003). Character education crucial to education system, Paige says ‘culture callousness’ must end; announces technical center for character education and civic engagement. Retrieved August 22, 2011 from http://www2.ed.gov. U.S. Department of Education. (2011). Character education…our shared responsibility. Retrieved August 22, 2011 from http://www2.ed.gov.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that character education in the united states dates back to horace mann, who advocated that "character development was as important as academics in american schools."
- Explains that 18 states mandate character education in the education code; california is one of them. of the 41 identified character-education interventions listed on the u.s. department of education website, 28 have no studies meeting evidence standards, and only three have been found to positively effect academic achievement.
- Explains the importance of obtaining informed consent and a permission form before the research study can begin.
- Asks how effective character education programs can be at the high school level, given the lack of character, integrity, and concern for others. the research study aims to determine whether a direct correlation exists.
- Explains that the correlational study will include data that is already available including student cst scores and grade point averages, the two major determinants of measurable student achievement.
- Summarizes the u.s. department of education's position on character education and civic engagement.
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- Character Education Literature Reviewanalytical essayThe basis of good character involves being respectful, honest, hardworking, responsible, caring, and understanding. Parents and teachers alike wish for their students to possess good character; but what does “character” mean in the realm of education; and whose responsibility is it to ensure that students do in fact develop good character? The Character Education Partnership (2003, pg. 1), defines good character as involving “understanding, caring about, and acting upon core ethical values”, and thus takes a holistic approach to the development of character in students by developing the “cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of moral life.” Through character education, students can grow to understand core values, learn to develop caring relationships, and grow in self-motivation; thus students grow in character as their understanding and subsequent commitment deepens through varied opportunities to apply values through everyday interactions (CEP, 2003). In theory, a student who possesses good character is a more productive, responsible, respectful, and caring student; yet the question as to whether a student with good character is a better student academically remains.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the character education partnership defines good character as involving understanding, caring about, and acting upon core ethical values.
- Analyzes how the recent character education movement has collided directly with the increased pressure to raise student achievement, specifically in language arts and mathematics.
- Describes how the national university library database search engines were used to acquire the literature for the review, including gale and ebsco host.
- Analyzes how the rise of character education in the united states was followed by a decline after the character education inquiry, which concluded that direct methods were ineffective.
- Explains that character education made a comeback in 1966 as the result of the work of lawrence kohlberg, who linked his cognitive-developmental theory of moral reasoning to the practice of implementing moral education in schools.
- Explains that character education has been placed front and center along with raising student achievement. the u.s. congress authorized the partnerships in character education program in 1994 and the no child left behind act in 2001.
- Opines that the lack of scientific research supporting character education's effectiveness in educating our nation’s youth will repeat itself, causing it to slowly disappear and regenerate strength.
- Cites character education partnership's (2003), effective character education, and berkowitz, m. w., kuehn, p. and smith, k.
- Explains berkowitz, bier, and marco's work in character education.
- Explains haegerich, metz, and keefer, m. (2006). a critical comparison of classical and domain theory: some implications for character education.
- Cites leming, j. s., schaps, e. lewis, and character education partnership, w. c.
- Explains that children's social behaviors as predictors of academic achievement: a longitudinal analysis. school psychology quarterly, 17(1), 1-23.
- Cites romanowski, m. h., rudd, a. & stoll, s.
- Describes sherblom, s. a., marshall, j. c. et al. (2006). the relationship between school climate and math and reading achievement.
- Explains that skaggs, bodenhorn, et al. (2006). relationships between implementing character education, student behavior, and student achievement.
- Explains the impact of a social-emotional and character development program on school-level indicators of academic achievement, absenteeism, and disciplinary outcomes: a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled trial.
- Explains stiff-williams, h. r., and clearing house: a journal of educational strategies, issues and ideas.
- Explains that u.s. department of education has announced a technical center for character education and civic engagement.
1320 wordsRead More - Character Education Programs Needed in Public Schoolsanalytical essayIn schools all throughout the world, no two students are going to learn at the same pace, or behave the same way in a classroom. Every student is going to come from a different family life and background. Each family will have a different set of rules which might be completely different than the rules stated in classrooms. Some students will have character education instilled in their home lives, while others will not. With the media portraying negative messages all around us, individuals’ attitudes and opinions of others has become pessimistic. In order to help eliminate this problem from worsening, some schools are implementing character education programs. The goals of character education programs in schools are instilled to help students learn important character traits early on in life. By teaching students essential character traits at a young age, self-confidence and peer interactions lead to positive development in other areas- academics. Hence, student performance is greater in school districts that implement character education programs than student performance in school districts that do not implement character education programs. Moreover, students in program schools have higher academic achievement, show more respectful behaviors, have better peer and teacher relationships, and a higher sense of self-esteem.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that character education programs in schools are instilled to help students learn important character traits early on in life.
- Describes battistich, schaps, and wilson's follow-up study to examine the effects of a comprehensive elementary - school intervention program, the child development project.
- Analyzes how quantitative research methods were used to test the above hypotheses. students in schools where cdp was implemented showed more positive interpersonal behavior in the classroom, reported more acts of altruism out of school, and had stronger conflict resolution skills.
- Explains that the youngstown city school system has been coping with significant urban issues for several decades. in an effort to improve academic achievement, martin and martin developed a comprehensive program entitled, "the williamson project."
- Explains that martin and martin used quantitative research methods to answer the aforementioned research question. they found attendance remained consistently high and improved from 90% in 2000 to nearly 97% in 2004.
- Explains the purpose of the study, which was to determine the effect of using character education programs in schools versus not using one at all.
- Explains that character education programs help children build positive interpersonal relationships. schaffer suggests positive peer relationships have been linked to higher feelings of self-worth.
- Explains that school districts across the united states are concerned with a positive and safe school environment. character education programs allow students to gain self-control and confidence in one’s self.
- Explains the rise in destructive behavior and self-destructive behavior of youth in the united states, which has helped educators look towards character education programs in schools.
- Analyzes the effects of an elementary school intervention on students' "connectedness" to school and social adjustment during middle school.
1339 wordsRead More - Educating for Character: How Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibilityargumentative essayStep 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)
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how county high school's lack of character is affecting all aspects of the campus, including the athletic programs and fine arts programs.
- Proposes a program called "character matters" that teaches students and athletes basic character skills needed to be successful in life and society.
- Explains the vision of community businesses partnering with the campus to develop students who will become functioning members of society.
- Explains that for the program to be considered a success on campus, three goals must be met during the duration of this joint partnership.
- Explains the steps that need to be taken to implement this program. the committee will contact the instructors at state university and set up a meeting.
- Outlines the resources needed for the program to work. teachers will be brought in to the committee formed to write papers to try and receive federal grant money.
- Explains that cooperative learning is a strategy that will be used with the students. students will get scenarios that test their skills in deciding what they would do, and teach them how to respond using true character.
- Opines that a monthly meet and greet and presentation of different community leaders would keep stakeholders interested and form strong bonds with the campus. inviting guest speakers to speak to students, parents, faculty, and any other stakeholder will give the program more meaning.
- Explains that the program has been used in small settings, but it has not been tested at a campus-wide setting.
- Cites chen, g (2008). dealing with behavioral issues in middle and high school. public school policies.
- Explains likona, t., educating for character: how schools can teach respect and responsibility.
1834 wordsRead More - Our Young Folks - An Ethical Guide for Childrenanalytical essayOne of the ways Our Young Folks gave its readers moral instructions was by setting examples. The magazine was packed with stories of selfless children who lived and died for others. Such characters were held up as models for how the young readers of the magazine should behave.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that our young folks was a children's magazine that ran from 1865 until 1873 and was widely read by children across the country and even abroad.
- Analyzes how the preacher explains a more important reward for such deeds of charity: "you will have your reward; for our lord has said that 'inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,'"
- Narrates how she seemed to float along by the side of happiness.
- Opines that it was more blessed to give than to receive.
- Opines that "kitty" is perhaps the best example of a moralistic story one could find, as it teaches children to be kind to others through numerous examples of the good one can do and the rewards which come after acts of kindness.
- Analyzes how the narrator begs forgiveness, and he and the jew become lifelong friends. the poem encourages children to be kind to those whom they do not understand.
- Opines that if she gave them a kind word or taste of her bread, she would say ‘out of the summary:
- Opines that they felt just as badly as you would feel if anybody talked to you while talking.
- Opines that they are only speaking to you of methods. they take for granted that you are.
- Analyzes how our young folks gave its readers moral instructions by setting examples. the magazine was packed with stories of selfless children who lived and died for others.
- Analyzes how "the beautiful gate" offered children a role model who was the epitome of selflessness.
- Analyzes how cud's story is a clear example of how the magazine gave its readers guidance by setting examples for how they should behave.
- Analyzes how kitty's generous acts inspired readers to behave as unselfishly as their heroine. the description of her reward after she helped the poor family was intended to inspire others.
- Analyzes how the contributors of our young folks subtly led children to consider how their actions effected others by providing them with stories which were written from perspectives unlike their own. pierson makes the reader sympathize with poor little cud.
- Narrates how the man was reeling down a high flight of stone steps, and he felt pain as though every bone was ground to atoms.
- Explains that slavery had crippled him in mind as well as body by a great wrong.
- Analyzes how pierson appeals to the reader's christian sensibility, as she forces cud to reflect upon how jesus would treat black people.
- Opines that'scat' is an odious word. it has a sound which no cat can endure. gentleness is pleasing to all.
- Analyzes how the reader would have felt badly for their past indiscretions, and vowed to be more considerate of others in the future.
- Analyzes how readers of our young folks were given moral guidance in a variety of ways, whether it was from adventure stories or "how to."
- Analyzes how the "how to do it" series was aimed to teach youngsters proper etiquette, but it is founded upon moral principles.
- Opines that if you need to be told that, you should never be sly or mean in talk.
- Explains that the "how to talk" series was founded on ethical principles, although it is a guide for etiquette. our young folks tried to instill morals into its young readers.
3196 wordsRead More - The Strong Beliefs of Aerin from McKinley's Hero and the Crown and Ellen from Gibbon's Ellen Fosteranalytical essayHowever, some teens have experiences that result in the shaping of a strong will and as a consequence can easily form ethical convictions with nary a doubt. Two teens from this year's English Festival book selections fall into the latter category. Both Aerin from Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown and Ellen from Kaye Gibbon's Ellen Foster exhibit strong moral beliefs formed during their early teen years. Some of the values and beliefs Aerin and Ellen share are independence, self-sufficiency, and a mistrust for authority. Each girl's unique experiences help shape these beliefs, and both girls manife...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the strong beliefs of aerin from mckinley's hero and the crown and ellen from gibbon’s ellen foster.
- Analyzes the lyrics of david bowie's hit song "changes" that hint at the numerous weighty issues young teenagers must resolve while going through the "changes."
- Analyzes how aerin from robin mckinley's the hero and the crown and ellen from kaye gibbon’s ellen foster exhibit strong moral beliefs formed during their early teen years.
- Analyzes how aerin and ellen share a strong sense of independence. both girls can be described as feminists. ellen learns to be strong-willed because of her mother's death.
- Analyzes how aerin fire-hair becomes a successful dragon-slayer completely of her own volition, independent of anyone else's wishes or expectations.
- Analyzes how aerin and ellen maintain a belief in being self-sufficient. ellen shows her ability to take care of herself after her mother dies.
- Analyzes how aerin becomes self-sufficient as a reaction to the stuffy roles of the court. she could do without teka's constant ministrations and her efforts to make her look pretty.
- Analyzes how aerin and ellen possess a healthy mistrust of authority, which results in positive consequences.
- Analyzes how aerin's mistrust for authority manifests itself less as suspicion and more as an "i'll-show-them" attitude.
- Explains that aerin and ellen have formed strong moral and ethical beliefs at a young age, beliefs that will likely remain with them throughout their lives.
852 wordsRead More - Personal Narrative: Becoming A Bully Victimnarrative essayThe rest of my summer vacation was filled with restless nights, guilty thoughts, and worrying about what would become of me once school came back into session. Sam had spent 6 years of our friendship protecting me from bullies. I never learned to defend myself before his passing. School started and, to cope without Sam, I carried a teddy bear throughout the school day. One day a kid on the bus decided to make fun of me and I snapped. That day was the first time since starting school in Harper that I had stood up for myself. I learned that the anger people brought to me didn’t have to stay inside for only myself to witness and that I was strong enough to stand up for what I believed in. Since then my attitude has been better, I have slowly progressed to the happy mindset I had as a little kid, and I was finally at peace with
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how they'd put off standing up for themselves for years after becoming a bully victim, but it wasn't until the death of their friend samuel that the reality of the issue emerged.
- Describes how they had grown accustomed to summer vacations where they saw very little of each other. they had never been away from sam or their home for more than a week or two.
- Narrates how their summer vacation was filled with restless nights, guilty thoughts, and worrying about what would become of them once school came back into session. they never learned to defend themselves before his passing.
596 wordsRead More - Cognitive Development Case Studyanalytical essayChildhood development and the best way to educate students are issues that have been theorized from multiple perspectives. The common elements within these theories are, children need structure, a learning environment that is safe, purposeful curricula, and a teacher that genuinely cares. In the case study of Alicia, a teenage adolescent who appears to have behavior issues and struggle academically, the theories of Lev Vygotsky and the American Physiological Association journal on adolescent cognitive development will be utilized to analyze her behavior and the best strategies for instructions.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the theories of lev vygotsky and the american physiological association journal on adolescent cognitive development in the case study of alicia.
- Argues that alicia's behavior could be attributed to adolescent defiance, which is an undiagnosed learning disability.
- Argues that the classroom needs to resemble a learning community where all students are actively engaged in the content to maximize long-term memory.
- Explains that the transition from middle school to high school can cause anxiety and challenges with some students. peer groups serve as a reference point for developing identity and the school becomes the center of their lives.
1144 wordsRead More - Pros And Cons Of Being Strong Adultsanalytical essayAs educators, it is our job to “be the adult” in every situation. In every interaction with the students in our care, it is our responsibility to control our words and actions. We need to be proactive to avoid challening situaitons e nstead of blaming students, parents, community, or society, we need to be aware of realistic challenges to act and plan according. By accepting these obstacles, we can do our part to help students develop positive personality traits and behaviors. Educators need to be strong adults instead of victims. We need to work harder instead of making excuses. We need to model the confidence we want our students to develop.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the non-negotiables of educators' job to be the adult in every situation. instead of blaming students, parents, community, or society, educators should be aware of realistic challenges to act and plan according.
- Argues that educators need to abandon outdated pedagogy and structures to prepare students for the future instead of the past. this will require teachers to model lifelong learning through reading, professional development, and collaboration in personal learning communities.
- Opines that educators are responsible for helping students develop at least an appreciation of all humans, and to help them develop characters kills that empower them to contribute to a diverse global society.
379 wordsRead More - By definition the word character means moral or ethical quality. My definition of character is that what defines you as a person, your personality and how you act but to have a good character you have to have honesty, courage and integrity and generally being a role model to others. There are so many people out there that have goals that would not only benefit them but would benefit everyone around them and some of those people are Gandhi, Martin Luther king Jr. and Malala Yousafzai. These are just the few people who help me shape my ideas of character but also as a person. They fight for what they think/thought was right without any violence but they use powerful words and hey speak the truth we all deserve to be equals. They all had the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that character means moral or ethical quality. gandhi, martin luther king jr., and malala yousafzai help shape their ideas of character and as a person.
- Opines that in addition to their role models that shape their thought on good character and help shape them as a person, they believe they have these character qualities.
221 wordsRead More - Examples Of Hypocrisy In To Kill A Mockingbirdanalytical essayIt will always be there whether it is perceptible or within subliminal messages. For instance, fairy tales do a scad more to entertain their viewership. Their heroes and villains teach important lessons about life to understand the world in an easy way children can. Although, not all the lessons fairytales teach are always good for children. Villains and protagonists are often exaggerated by the way they look and act like. Thus, from a very young age, children learn not only learn to judge the way people look, but also learn to stereotype an abundant of individuals. It is understood that fairytales has the intention to teach young individuals independence and strength. In contrast, fairytale princesses often do nothing for themselves to achieve triumph. Instead, they let everyone else do everything and take over their obligations. In the same fashion, the protagonist in the short story About School by an Unknown Author shows an act of independence and individual personality from his schoolmates. Even though the school forces creativity upon students, they are still compulsed to think and act similar to each other. Thus, creating labels and stereotypes. As an example, To Kill A MockingBird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson is shown as a victim of racism and labelling by Maycomb’s individuals who describes themselves as “God fearing”. The entire novel shows Christian hypocrisy against colored individuals. Tom
In this essay, the author
- Explains the term hypocrisy, which turns simple words into covertly used against one another and has been used by the government, politicians, media and so forth.
- Analyzes how the characters in harper lee's to kill a mockingbird showed signs of hypocrisy, such as tom robinson being convicted for taking advantage of mayella ewell.
- Analyzes how aunt alexandra and her missionary circle gathered at atticus' house and discussed improving the lives of the people in africa. mrs. merriweather lectures the circle about being a good christian and reports northerners as hypocrites for freeing african americans.
- Explains that hypocrisy can't be avoided in life situations. their heroes and villains teach important lessons about life to entertain their viewership.
- Analyzes how the majority of short stories have protagonists and antagonists being underestimated over their capabilities.
- Explains that violence has become an ordinary thing in the world despite the age group of viewers and what it may lead to.
- Compares the relationship between grace and paul and jodi-ann and billie jim in the father by hugh garner.
- Analyzes how injustice has many faces, from a simple understatement to an extent of corruption.
- Explains that hypocrisy is used to gain power and respect. it comes in different varieties and pretends to have feelings, virtues, beliefs and propositions that one does not possess.
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