The term of character education tends to deal with global context and school‟s roles. People‟s character today is
believed tobe the result of global tendency, and one of institutions responsible for the betterness of this is
education institutions (schools) through character education. Character is a whole antropological structure of an
individu determine the destiny and the ability to integrate with life changes. This fact demands critical thinking in
taking action based on the apreciation on history. The building of critical thinking in character education at school
seems tobe theoretic, methodologic, and exclusive. This action is still debated especially about the definition,
method, and approach for the teaching and learning, and this becomes the teacher‟s responsibility.
The term of character education and the appreciation on history in this context does not merely put the nation‟s
history as the only strategic basis of character education by ignoring the other strategic basis such as religy,
social, and culture. Individual character is determined also by the ability of searching the oneself as a part of the
present and others in the past. The result of the thinking process produces critical awareness of the choices for
future. The thinking process is a reflection of individual and societical action in the past in the historical
perspective and responsibly appreciated as a reference of action today. The character education nowdays is
shown by the ignorance of history, so it can be said as the action without thinking, or thinking differently from
the action.
Keywords: character, historical appreciatio