A GUIDE TO TEACHING CHARACTER EDUCATION

In this guide, I will provide you with an easy to understand breakdown of all things Character Education, ideal for teenagers aged 11-18 but that can be also be relevant for upper elementary or even adults too.
If you have any questions and would like to know more, please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected].
WHAT  IS  CHARACTER  EDUCATION?
Character Education is all about developing our students' emotional, intellectual and moral qualities in order to ensure they grow into respectful, honest and kind people who make good decisions thus enabling them to reach their full potential both academically and personally.
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  • By teaching these qualities, you are developing your students' individuality and helping to form their level of self-worth. You are treating your students as more than a test score.

  • Your students' character is far more important than their achievement. Character affects everything about their lives such as their thoughts, decisions, actions, relationships and goals.

  • Good character is your students wanting to make the right choice and striving to do good.

  • Good character is your students being honest, respectful, reliable, kind etc.

  • Your students' character will determine their success.

  • Good character promotes good behaviour, attendance, punctuality and respect.
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  • The world around us continues to change: technology, curriculum even grade boundaries... but good character never will be outdated and it will never change. Character education is a lifelong lesson that will always be around for as long as there are humans on earth. It is absolutely fundamental to all of our lives and especially in the lives of your students as they grow.
WHY  SHOULD  YOU  TEACH  CHARACTER  EDUCATION?
The question should be "Why shouldn't you teach Character Education?" You care about your students being good people and treating others with respect. You want them to make good choices. You want them to reach their full potential. Why shouldn't you teach good character?

  • There is so much focus on achievement in school, but actually achievement is just the positive result of good character: good character affects the choices your students make such as their attitude towards work, their self-belief and motivation to work hard, which in turns affects their success.

  • It is pointless to praise your students on their accomplishments and achievements alone without teaching good character first. Their accomplishments are the result of good character, so you need to make sure you are praising the positive characteristic they are demonstrating.

  • When you teach character and show an interest in your students' emotional well-being, they will do their best work because they feel safe, appreciated, supported and challenged by you.

  • Praising your students' character reminds them that character is the most important factor affecting their work and achievement: it's NOT all about ability.

  • Your students will begin to recognise that they have control over their character and instead of suffering with a victim mentality, they will realise they can make better choices to improve their achievement and behaviour.

  • You will also teach your students what to look out for in their peers too: they will recognise what qualities make a good friend / good person which reduces bullying, creates a better classroom community and increases respect for others.
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  • Your students will develop a growth mindset and become more proactive in knowing how to solve problems before they even arise, rather than be reactive and responding by emotion, which can unpredictable or even volatile.
WHAT  ARE  THE  DANGERS  OF  EXCLUDING  CHARACTER  EDUCATION?
We have a responsibility to educate our students to be good people as well as just "pass tests". In fact, I'm willing to bet that is probably the number 1 reason why you chose to become a teacher - to make a difference. What is the ultimate way you can make a difference in a child's life? Helping them form a good character so that they can make good decisions. Without Character Education:

  • Your students' individuality and self-worth will be quashed. 

  • If focus remains on achievement alone, it will evoke feelings of inadequacy among many of your students having a negative effect on their self-worth.

  • You will continue to witness your students have poor relationships between peers and adults. 
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  • Your students will make poor decisions. We cannot assume character is always taught at home. 
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  • Your students may also display emotions such as anxiety, stress, fear, lack of self-control, poor behaviour, sense of entitlement and unappreciation.
HOW  CAN  YOU  IMPLEMENT  CHARACTER  EDUCATION  INTO  YOUR  CLASSROOM?
Character Education is very easy to implement in the classroom, you may already be doing it without realising! But if you're not, don't worry - it just involves a shift in perspective and some practice:

  • First you need to identify the characteristics to your students so they know what being a good character actually looks like.

  • Focus on one characteristic at a time to give your students the opportunity to really understand what it is, why it is important, its benefits and action steps to achieve it. I have created a bank of lessons on characteristics for teens such as self-esteem, courage, resilience, self-respect, empathy etc. that cover all of these aspects. 

  • You can incorporate a theme of the month in your classroom (or across the whole school) and bring this theme in to other lessons too: e.g. your students could carry out a character analysis of character in a book or historical figure.

  • If you do not have designated time to teach as as a full lesson (for example, in the UK we have PSHE lessons or tutor time which these are ideal for), you can still deliver them as part of a morning meeting routine spread out over the space of a few weeks.

  • You can recognise when students display good character and make an effort to praise them when they do it.

  • Try to avoid praising your students' achievement and praise the positive characteristic they demonstrated in order to achieve, instead: i.e. don't say "I'm so proud of you for getting an A" but instead replace it with "I'm so proud of the resilience you have shown with this project - you worked so diligently and you didn't give up once!". Can you FEEL the difference? This also means those students who may not get an "A" can also have their self-worth validated by the actions they took, not just the grade they achieved. Your students are more than a test score...

  • Encourage your students to praise others and show gratitude to reduce the sense of entitlement that has come to be so prevalent among the current generation.
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  • Choose to decorate your walls with inspirational quotes, and spend time analysing inspirational people and stories, ensuring you are keeping the focus on character that led to achievement.
RELATED  BLOG  POSTS  ABOUT  CHARACTER  EDUCATION:
I blog regularly about practical ideas for incorporating Character Education into your classroom. Here is a growing collection you can always refer to:

Blog posts:
Find more free ideas and inspiration on my Pinterest board:
WHERE  CAN  YOU  FIND  MORE  INFORMATION  ON  CHARACTER  EDUCATION?
If you want to learn more about Character Education from other professionals all around the world, here's a growing list of some of my favourite links and sources of information:
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"INTELLIGENCE PLUS CHARACTER - THAT IS THE TRUE GOAL OF EDUCATION" - Martin Luther King Jr

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"CHARACTER IS THE REAL FOUNDATION FOR ALL WORTHWHILE SUCCESS" - John Hays Hammond

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"IT'S NOT WHO YOU ARE THAT HOLDS YOU BACK. IT'S WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE NOT" - Denis Waitley

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​"NOTHING IS OF MORE IMPORTANCE FOR THE PUBLIC WEAL, THAN TO FORM AND TRAIN UP YOUTH
IN ​WISDOM AND VIRTUE" - Benjamin Franklin

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