Putting Character Back in Education
On March 23, a Rocky Mountain News editorial expressed opposition to House Bill 1292, a voluntary program to encourage schools to implement character education in existing curricula. I cannot disagree more.When Governor Owens and Attorney General Ken Salazar chaired a summit to bring people together to craft practical solutions for school safety, one of the ideas generated was the need for character education in our schools. Coloradans want their elected officials to demonstrate leadership, to enunciate community values and to implement programs that underscore those values.
We are a society founded on individual responsibility, honesty and respect. We all share the sense that these attributes are the common threads of our communities. Columbines occur when these common threads are broken.
One thread common to us all is our shared notion that schools need to teach kids how to work with others and to garner the skills that will help them learn and earn. We all are committed to promoting effective learning environments that will assist parents in reducing school violence, substance abuse and teen pregnancy.
Some worry that character education puts religion in our classrooms. Others worry that it smacks of secular humanism.
In reality, as a part of teaching skills and knowledge, schools have an obligation to help parents build character through the transmission of broadly shared community values. Such values include civility, individual responsibility, honesty, diligence and the courage to stand up to peer pressure.
A number of school districts already have character education programs that are valuable to their communities. For example, the Edison Schools in Denver and Colorado Springs promote and model core values using a literature-based instructional curriculum to present moving stories that engage students in ethical discussions.
Children learn to be good the same way they learn anything - hearing, seeing, and doing. They grow by being told what qualities are good, by witnessing examples of moral behavior, and by practicing these virtues themselves.
Education in character and ethics help students understand their own behavior and a way to frame moral questions. Kids can discern why a character in a novel makes certain choices. They learn to identify the underlying principle behind a political idea. They understand what kind of courage it takes for an individual to defy an unjust system.
These values should be integrated in the school's curriculum and, more importantly, its culture. Where instituted, surveys indicate that schools experience fewer disciplinary problems, increases in attendance and much less vandalism.
The legislature has been justifiably focused on improving student achievement academic excellence in our schools. By improving student behavior in the classroom, character education allows learning to take place in a disciplined environment, making it possible for more kids to learn and more teachers to teach. Without order, other educational reforms will not make a difference.
An educational system focused on excellence must also include a deep commitment to character education. The General Assembly should take this first small step in supporting parents’ efforts to allow learning to take place in a disciplined environment.
Sen. Stan Matsunaka is Senate President and co-chair of the Colorado Democratic Leadership Council, a think tank advocating new ideas and the Democratic Party's historic commitment to economic growth, personal responsibility, community, individual liberty and equal opportunity.
(This commentary was published in the Rocky Mountain News on April 2, 2001)