Character Education Statement
Character Education Goals:
- Students will demonstrate the traits of good character at school through their conduct and their interactions with peers and staff.
- Student will demonstrate knowledge of the vocabulary and concepts of character traits by writing and speaking about the traits.
- Staff will encourage parents to promote good character with their children.
Character Development Philosophy:
- We believe that all students want to demonstrate good character.
- We believe that good character can be taught and encouraged.
- We believe that good character can be "caught" from the examples and messages that surround kids, so we flood the environment with positive character messages.
Character Development Process:
We believe that good character is developed through a combination of modeling, instruction, practice feedback and exposure. At our school, adults model good character for the students, and students are asked to set a good example for each other. Instruction takes place in the classroom (through lessons and class meetings), via the intercom (during daily character announcements) and in assemblies to celebrate studentsí successes. Practice takes place through classroom role-playing and in real life" as the day unfolds. Students are asked to practice traits during their routine activities. Feedback comes from teachers in class and from all other adults in the school who are asked to "catch kids showing good character" and to thank or acknowledge them for doing so. Awareness comes from exposure to positive character messages.
The basic framework for demonstrating good character at school is provided by the school rules (Be safe, be respectful, be responsible). We speak this language constantly in our interactions with studentsóin lessons, in debriefing problem behavior, and in complementing students for doing the right thing.
