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Character
Building for Children
by
M. L. Pinkard, educatorCharacter
building for children - what does that mean? Who's doing the building? That
was my frustration when I agreed to write on this topic. Should I write to children
who are building in their own lives, or to adults who are building in children's
lives? I wasn't sure, but I finally decided to write to adults. Naturally, the
work can't be done without involving the children. It's a team effort. I just
thought it would be better to talk to adults and let them talk to the children.
Character
building for children calls to mind the effort to build strong bodies. That,
too, is a team effort, with adults guiding children, yet children being required
to do much of the work. Building character is a full-time job just as building
strong bodies is. Character building demands quality materials and daily exercise,
just as body building demands quality nutrition and daily exercise. |
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You
could write a whole essay on the similarities, but eventually you need to begin
the work of character building for children. Here are a few recommendations
from my personal experience. 1.
Set goals.
2. Decide the children's present character
"health."
3. Select quality materials.
4.
Master the meaning of the character trait you want to build into children.
5.
Hone that trait in your own life.
6. Be sure you have
a definition that is clear, complete, and geared to the age.
7.
Incorporate teaching into as many areas of life as possible.
8.
Teach in a variety of ways, including books, songs, crafts, etc.
9.
Use encouragement more than lectures.
10. Drill the material
in as many interesting ways as possible.
Character
building for children, like other training we give them, will need a lot of
repetition before you realize success, but don't give up. "Many men,"
said Henry Ward Beecher, "build as cathedrals were built, the part nearest
the ground finished; but that part which soars toward heaven, the turrets and
the spires, forever incomplete." Don't let that be true of your character
building for children. Keep at it until head knowledge works its way down
to the feet and you see character in action as well as in words. | |
