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Character
Education Activities
by
David Esposito, guidance counselor
Character
education activities give teachers one more way to address behavioral issues
in our schools. While acknowledging the usefulness of videos for kids to watch,
and CD's with songs for them to sing, I must confess that I would never feel I
had completed my job if I failed to use character education activities. Many of
our kids, at whatever age, just do not learn with videos showing how Bob and Sue
feel about good character. Others do not learn much through songs.
Character
education activities, however, seem to meet the need of every student. Whether
it's coloring, crafts, skits, or parties, activities geared to the age and connected
to the character lesson are a tremendous support. They touch the kids in a way
that nothing else will. There is a more relaxed atmosphere when we use character
education activities. |
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A
guidance counselor from another district told me recently that she feels we need
to educate teachers to change their approach in character education from threatening
to non-threatening. I agree, and I think character education activities are part
of the solution. The trick is to select activities that are not, in themselves,
threatening. Character
education activities that involve role-playing can be threatening to many
kids. They feel singled out, since the role-playing often is a one-on-one setting.
I feel that the same lesson can be taught in a non-threatening manner with a skit
that involves a number of students. In the same way, individual speeches might
be a threatening activity, while a story built by a group would be non-threatening
activity.
Character
education activities help us reach the kids that need to talk with their hands,
too. I mean the kids that have to be moving to learn. After they listen to or
read a good book about a character trait, these kids are ready to move! Crafts
turn that energy into a reinforcement of what they just heard or read. Crafts
let them express their feelings about the character trait they are studying.
Many
activities can be turned into character education activities. We just need to
remember to keep them non-threatening, and be sure they help us achieve our objective | |
