Lombardi, Emily

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ESSAIVolume 7 Article 324-1-2010Character Education: Integration of an AncientTheoryEmily LombardiCollege of DuPageFollow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/essaiThis Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@C.O.D.. It has been accepted for inclusion inESSAI by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@C.O.D.. For more information, please contact koteles@cod.edu.Recommended CitationLombardi, Emily (2009) "Character Education: Integration of an Ancient Theory," ESSAI: Vol. 7, Article 32.Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol7/iss1/32102Character Education: Integration of an Ancient Theoryby Emily Lombardi(Education 1100)e become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control,and courageous by performing acts of courage. Hence, it is no small matter whetherone habit or another is inculcated in us from early childhood; on the contrary, itmakes...all the difference," (Benninga, 2003). Quoted from Aristotle himself, the vital need forcharacter development in a child’s life has not been a foreign matter prior to the 21st century.Aristotle asserts to his students that the way to live in a judicial manner comes from the practice ofmonitoring unjust actions and acting against them. This same philosophy is only a fraction of thecharacter development program that many educators are pushing for today. Maria Montessori, MD,and founder of the Montessori Method of Education, defines character development as “thedeliberate effort to cultivate virtue—that is, objectively good human qualities that are good for theindividual person and good for the whole society,” (Vardin, 2003). The integration of charactereducation into America’s public school system is a crucial component that is just as important astextural education.Character education emerged within the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1642 (Vardin, 2003).Young students went to school to become literate and learn moral lessons from the most influentialbook of the 1600s: the Bible. America’s founding fathers praised good character and believed that itscitizens needed to respect virtues such as the awareness of the common good and knowledge for thelaw to preserve a democracy (Vardin, 2003). Following the teachings of the Bible in public schools,the McGuffey Readers surfaced in the schooling system and proposed a series of texts that taughtstudents to read and develop traits like honesty, kindness, and courage. Character educationcontinued to shape America’s public school system until the middle of the 20th century.Many writers argue that in the American culture, the 1960s unleashed the “demoralization”theory which was a time where the phrases “Do your own thing” and “If it feels good, do it” moldedthe popular culture (Vardin, 2003). Vardin (2003) emphasizes the extensive tolerance for all types oframbunctious behavior which was accepted as a way of life. Also, with the advancement of moderntechnology knocking on the 20th century’s doorstep, ways to develop character and courses in moralphilosophy evidently went away (Weber, 1998). The restoration of character education in Americanpublic schools happened as a response to a dramatic increase in school violence. Weber (1998)claims, “The recurrent shocking incidents of in-school shootings resulting in children across thecountry, including small-town America, injuring and killing other children and their teacher’ssuggestions that character education programs that attempt to teach respect for others, responsibilityfor one’s actions, and peaceful resolution of conflict will not soon be abandoned” (para. 2).  Schoolstoday need to emphasize the importance of responsibility and the positive development of characterin hopes to decrease the level of in-school violence and keep American students safe.Multiple character education models have been composed to help guide future educators andstudents on a journey to build self character. One of them, the Montessori Model of Education,displays the basis of character development and ways to integrate these ideas into a classroomsetting. Maria Montessori observed that the origins of a child’s character surfaces within the first sixyears of life (Vardin, 2003). Montessori states that the environment in which a child is exposed towill influence his or her future character development. A child’s true personality will evolvenaturally with the help of providing the child with “productive activity” that teaches right from"W1Lombardi: Character Education: Integration of an Ancient TheoryProduced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2009103wrong (Vardin, 2003). Richard Pring (2001) identifies these activities as “strands of truth,correctness, validity, appropriateness without which there would be no struggle to improve, nosearching for the most precise account, no refinement of one’s feelings as they are embodied in one’sbest endeavors” (p. 103).  Montessori advises that by concentrating on these positive activities,negative traits such as laziness and disorder will be replaced by traits such as sociability anddiscipline (Vardin, 2003).Montessori applies her philosophy on character education into a classroom setting. Throughchildren’s engagement in a positive environment and with one another, Montessori identified sevenimportant virtues cultivated as a result of her teaching method (Vardin, 2003). First, she observedthat concentration was the foundation for a child’s character development and social behavior. TheMontessori environment supplies multiple materials and activities for a child to choose from, whichenables “her to engage deeply and concentrate, helping her to form and shape her character” (p.33).Perseverance was a virtue that evolved in character development due to the teaching strategy ofscaffolding and repetition. A child learns to start and complete an activity which is an important traitfor future careers (Vardin, 2003). Patience and respect follow next on the list of observed virtues inwhich the child learns to deny personal impulses and wait for his or her turn. Helpfulness naturallyoccurs since Montessori’s environment gave older children the opportunity to aid younger students.Montessori is quoted by saying, “goodness must come out of reciprocal helpfulness” (Vardin, 2003).Young endeavors learn responsibility by participating in group work and keeping the classroomorganized. Voluntary obedience emerges not as a result from fear, but rather a wiliness to recognizeadult’s superiority (Vardin, 2003). Lastly, the virtue of self-discipline appears when a child is placedin an environment with vigorous activity, free will, and working with others.Character education programs, such as the Montessori Model of Education, teaches childrenat an early age the important virtues of good character. By setting the foundation of moral thinkingand action, American children will learn not only to be decent students, but also decent humanbeings. Good character qualities will surpass any time period or textual information learned, yet thesequalities must be nurtured by trained and passionate individuals.To meet the present uproar and need for effective teaching techniques of character educationin public schools, many colleges and universities are conducting new pre-service education programsfor education majors (Weber, 1998). A surveyed population of 600 deans of education schoolsagreed that core values, such as the ones presented in character development, should be taught inschool; yet, only 24.4 percent of these schools offer such programs. In an additional survey, 95percent of the 61 institutions responded that the inclusion of character education was an integratedcourse needed in teacher education.  Weber (1998) states that of these 61 institutions, 75 percent saidthat “character education should be a part of both the professional teacher education sequence and theliberal arts in general education courses” (para. 5). Preparation courses for character educationteachers must begin with personal ethical/moral development along with the college’s responsibilityto guide each student (Weber, 1998). Weber (1998) states the analogy of the unlikelihood of ateacher not prepared in math to teach the subject. Similarly, a teacher not prepared in charactereducation should not teach these important values to students (para. 7).Colleges and universities are striving to promote more ethical understanding and moralreasoning courses, which are essential for future character education teachers. For example,humanities is a course that is praised by character education models because of the opportunity forengaging discussions of the struggles involved within the human spirit and encounters withevaluating best thought processes (Weber, 1998). The National Council for Accreditation of TeacherEducation (NCATE) introduced a program of ethical/character education twenty five years ago thatpresented four components that are needed for the appropriate training for character education(Benninga, 2003). The Four-Component Model of Moral Maturity provides educational goals thatwould appeal to 1) moral sensitivity, 2) moral judgment, 3) moral motivation, and 4) moral character.2ESSAI, Vol. 7 [2009], Art. 32http://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol7/iss1/32104Service learning and volunteer programs are highly recommended to move theory out and beyond theclassroom (Weber, 1998). With these programs, a teacher will interact with a wide range ofindividuals with different skills and social levels. Courses involving service learning will advancestudents’ knowledge on a specific subject and put into action one of the basic fundamentals ofcharacter education: civic responsibility (Weber, 1998).Once identifying the effects of character education on a child and how teachers can prepareto implement this program, the next step is to integrate these virtues into the daily curriculum. Theintegration approach of character education is to add civic virtues into the already-existingcurriculum (Weber, 1998). This option is fitting to appeal to contemporary education methods and asmall step in eliminating traditional essentialism obstacles. Contemporary education methods includeexperimental learning, field study, and other progressive appeals. Integration of character educationin public schools will thus introduce more student-centered and progressive ways of teachingstudents.The focus of character education will help draw teachers away from strict textbook teachingand more into the mind of each individual student. Character education obviously centers on eachstudent. This type of education strives on making every student a rational and ethical human being.Rather than only focusing on the textural information and core subjects, character education willmake sure students contemplate on their personal ethics and how their actions affect the peoplearound them. For example, the Catholic based schooling system has shown American culture thepositive feedback that character education has on a community of students. The Christian characterdevelopment theory is based on Gospel teachings, environment, and cross-culture emphasis(Thibeau, 1999). As stated before, the Bible was and is a key testimonial book that teaches studentsthe value of “honesty, sharing, justice, respect, and responsibility” (Thibeau, 1999). Catholics andtheir beliefs have proven to have lasting effects on their students by not only preaching about living asacred and holy life, but also living out the good news that God has commanded for His people(Thibeau, 1999). Children will work to help their fellow neighbor and respect their duties as civilizedpeople because that is what they are meant to do as followers of the Catholic faith. Thus, thisconcludes the need for all students, not just Catholics, to mold into good citizens throughoutcharacter education virtues.By teaching children core values in character education, students will learn how to respectthemselves which will hopefully decrease negative school related trends such as cheating andbullying. In Education 1100, we have learned different philosophies that support this theory oflearning beyond the classroom. Student-centered philosophies, social reconstruction, existentialism,and scaffolding are examples that allow freedom to integrate character education into curriculum.Character education should not only be integrated in curriculum, but also be presented with greatforce. The way students build their character on the inside reflects their performance on the outside.From test scores to in-school shootings, the American culture needs to be rearranged and refocusedon the success of American students. With the integration of character education, the Americanpublic school system will shape solid human beings who will exceed in ethical skills.ReferencesBenninga, J. S. (2003). “Moral and Ethical Issues in Teaching Education.” ERIC Clearinghouse onTeaching and Teacher Education, 4, 1-9. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from ERIC database.Pring, R. (2001). “Education as a Moral Practice.” Journal of Moral Education, 30, 101-112.Retrieved September 25, 2008, from ERIC database.3Lombardi: Character Education: Integration of an Ancient TheoryProduced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2009105Thibeau, M. J. (1999). “Character Development is Nonnegotiable.” Momentum, 30, 14-16. RetrievedSeptember 25, 2008, from ERIC database.Vardin, P. A. (2003). “Character Education in America.” Montessori Life, 15, 32-34. RetrievedSeptember 25, 2008, from ERIC database.Weber, C. (1998). “Pre-service Preparation for Teaching Character and Citizenship: An IntegratedApproach.” Action in Teacher Education, 20, 85-95. Retrieved September 25, 2008, fromERIC database.4ESSAI, Vol. 7 [2009], Art. 32http://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol7/iss1/32

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