Character Education in Schools

Having a character education program at your child's school is grounds for cheering. Yes, it's your primary role as a parent to train your child's character. However, the more that teachers and other adults in your child's life support and assist you in this major responsibility, the better. Character lessons require consistent reinforcement, and children spend many hours at school.

In fact, there are some character lessons that will be more appropriately learned at school than at home. These include treating fellow students and teachers with respect, not cheating on tests, being responsible and purposeful with schoolwork, persevering through difficult schoolwork, being friendly to new students, being courteous in school lines and lunchrooms, cooperating in gym class and much more.

Many parents also have a very limited understanding of how to teach character to their children. There are lamentably few parent education courses on this subject and dozens of character qualities to understand! Divorces and blended families also have disrupted parents' education of their children. Teachers and administrators at schools with character education programs are going through specialized training to learn how to help children achieve their potential in this area. They probably will welcome you partnering with them to understand the lessons they are teaching and how to reinforce them at home. The chances that they will teach a character quality you disagree with are very small. For instance, one of the most common programs focuses on trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. These are all qualities that I'm sure are important to you.