While conducting my latest three-hour Character Education - Teachers & Staff Development Class in a small school district in Texas, I began by asking the staff to discuss why Character Education is important in Texas schools. Over the last few years I have received the same type of answers - "kids are not being taught values (some teachers mention basic courtesy,) any more", "kids are meaner to each other today", "parents are not involved in the child's life", and other very similar responses to these.
In this last class, when I asked "What particular value do you see is most needed in your students?" three people responded at the same time, "Respect". What an unambiguous indication of what this Texas District needed most!
This reminds me of an article I wrote recently on my Building Good Citizens for Texas website regarding Hal Urban. A comment from Dr. Urban was highlighted in that column - "What we accept, we teach!" As we continued to talk about the reasons for the lack of respect in this Texas district, it became clear that although teachers were working very hard to instill respect, students were just not being required to strive for those high standards teachers expected and wanted from them.
High expectation is a critical piece of the character education framework. Encouraging respect between teachers and students and among the students themselves is an important step in teaching all of the other character traits we wish to instill, such as honesty and loyalty.
Harry Wong, a very successful teacher, as well as author and presenter on Classroom Management, told of a six-year old student who said to him, "My teacher thought I was smarter than I was, so I was!" How is that for high expectations met? Can we correlate high expectations by the teacher to higher academic achievement? Many experts would agree that, yes we can!
The basis for a good Character education program is having high and consistent expectations that our students will do what is right. We have an important duty to help each and every student to know what the correct decision is and then make that right choice a habit. We must expect that all teachers, students and the property within our responsibility are treated with respect. That expectation of respect must become a habit. A critical piece of forming that habit of respect in the students is our own modeling of respect, by treating each one of our fellow teachers and students with respect in kind. Yes, even when correcting or imposing consequences, we must do so with respect.
Etzel is an educational consultant and the co-founder of "Building Good Citizens for Texas." Find out the more about Building Good Citizens for Texas and what this integrated character education program program can do in your Texas Schools at http://www.txchared.com
By Marilyn Etzel
In this last class, when I asked "What particular value do you see is most needed in your students?" three people responded at the same time, "Respect". What an unambiguous indication of what this Texas District needed most!
This reminds me of an article I wrote recently on my Building Good Citizens for Texas website regarding Hal Urban. A comment from Dr. Urban was highlighted in that column - "What we accept, we teach!" As we continued to talk about the reasons for the lack of respect in this Texas district, it became clear that although teachers were working very hard to instill respect, students were just not being required to strive for those high standards teachers expected and wanted from them.
High expectation is a critical piece of the character education framework. Encouraging respect between teachers and students and among the students themselves is an important step in teaching all of the other character traits we wish to instill, such as honesty and loyalty.
Harry Wong, a very successful teacher, as well as author and presenter on Classroom Management, told of a six-year old student who said to him, "My teacher thought I was smarter than I was, so I was!" How is that for high expectations met? Can we correlate high expectations by the teacher to higher academic achievement? Many experts would agree that, yes we can!
The basis for a good Character education program is having high and consistent expectations that our students will do what is right. We have an important duty to help each and every student to know what the correct decision is and then make that right choice a habit. We must expect that all teachers, students and the property within our responsibility are treated with respect. That expectation of respect must become a habit. A critical piece of forming that habit of respect in the students is our own modeling of respect, by treating each one of our fellow teachers and students with respect in kind. Yes, even when correcting or imposing consequences, we must do so with respect.
Etzel is an educational consultant and the co-founder of "Building Good Citizens for Texas." Find out the more about Building Good Citizens for Texas and what this integrated character education program program can do in your Texas Schools at http://www.txchared.com
By Marilyn Etzel
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