Chairman Emeritus, Character Education Partnership
Young people today face problems of a poor work ethic, drug abuse, sexual activity, violence, lying, cheating, stealing, and bullying. These are all character related problems. Throughout history, and in cultures around the world, education rightly conceived has had two great goals: to help students become smart and to help them become good. They need good character for both. The need moral character (e.g. honesty, responsibility, respect, caring) in order to behave ethically, strive for social justice, and live and work in community. They need performance character (e.g. hard work, initiative, courage, perseverance) in order to enact their moral principles and succeed in school and in life. To be a school of character or a community of character is to strive to be our best and do our best in all areas of our lives. My advice to the future president of the United States will be found in my essay, “America’s Crisis of Character–and What to Do About It”, which will be printed in the 8 October issue of Education Week.
This post was submitted by S. N. McDonnell.
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