Character education for elementary schools? Oh sure! There's a great idea! Like we don't have enough to teach already! Fourth grade, I'm told, is the beginning of a bridge between primary and middle schools. So, along with teaching reading, language arts, social studies, and science, fourth grade teachers must be prepared to emphasize following directions, both oral and written, as kids take responsibility for a significantly greater workload. That sounds like plenty until your principal tacks on character education.

Character education for elementary schools seemed to me like something that deserved at least as much attention as other courses. But I soon learned that few schools provide much in the way of materials or time. They expect teachers to "work it in" where we can. As a result, teachers seem to set up an equation in their heads:

Character education for elementary schools = Nuisance for elementary teachers

I disagree. Sure, it takes more time and effort to find what you need, but there are publishers who concentrate on character education books, lesson plans, activities, and crafts. One even offers a character critter series of cute animal books that teach character, with matching character stickers and character trading cards. They are beneath many (not all) fourth graders, but teachers in the lower grades latch onto them. We upper elementary teachers latch onto the character mystery series offered by the same site. Our students love them, and the accompanying lesson plans reduce our workload tremendously.

But the point I'm trying to make is that character education for elementary schools merits quality, specific materials, just as any course does. It merits time and effort, too. Working in character education where we can is not enough. Working it in once a week isn't enough, either. We need to drill it into students through repetition, just as we drill in other important facts. If we do that, our students are going to begin living it, and if they don't begin living it, I see no sense in teaching it.