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Character
Education Resources
by
Mark McCall, resource editor
Character
education resources are becoming more plentiful as character education becomes
firmly rooted in the curriculum. This is good news for teachers. Many are skilled
in teaching, given the proper tools, but these have been limited. I have talked
to teachers who had little more than a poster or two. Others have had a video
or a list of books from which they could try to draw out character. Few had character
education resources beyond these.
Character
education resources online include such things as teaching ideas; workshop
summaries; reports on the current state of ethics in various countries; magazine
articles; and lists of books that can be studied to draw out some of life's lessons
in character. Many of these are valued by teachers, and are incorporated into
their preparation time. |
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Character
education resources go beyond these, however. There are resources available
that take much of the burden from the busy teacher, yet are crystal clear in their
teaching and application of character traits. Look for resources such as these.
1.
fiction written with the explicit purpose of teaching character
2.
clear, age-appropriate character definitions
3. lesson plans to
accompany purpose-written books
4. assessment materials that help
meet character education goals
5. materials that complement the
purpose-written books
6. take-home items to extend the message
to the home
7. charts that continue the theme
8.
crafts to reinforce the message
9. classroom activities to carry
the theme across disciplines
10. nonfiction how-to books on specific character
traits for use with mature students or in teacher
preparation
Where
do you find such solutions? Character
education resources like these are not imaginary. They are readily available.
Character Digest has given me permission to mention just one source, so let me
recommend: www.character-in-action.com.
This
site has good character education resources for every age. | |
