Pillars of Character 1

Jefferson Memorial

Many schools in the area are adopting a program developed by the Josephson Institute which works to promote ethics in business, sports, schools and public service sectors. Each October they sponsor Character Counts Week, and last year over 5 million kids in 51 countries celebrated the Six Pillars of Character which is the basis of the program. The six pillars are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship. These six concepts are expanded through discussion and implementation, and offer a structure by which students can learn to make ethical decisions. The Journal reached out to one school administrator, Principal Adam Silverstein of the Manito Elementary School in Oakland to learn how the program was working locally. He reported that,

“The results of our character education program are evident on a variety of levels. On a daily basis, the teachers and I are noticing that the children are more kind and considerate than they ever have been. Not only are they holding doors open and saying please and thank you; they are also complimenting each other, resolving conflicts peacefully, helping each other with their homework, and they are being careful not to exclude others from activities inside and outside of the classroom. On a more global basis, the program has fostered an atmosphere where respect, citizenship, trustworthiness, fairness, caring and responsibility are all valued and expected.”

Plato & Aristotle by Raffaello Sanzio 1509

Schools have always taught character, from the days of Confucius, Aristotle and Cicero, education has always included moral instruction as a primary ingredient, if not a primary goal. This aspect of education was often fulfilled in America through the prism of religion with the bible being used liberally in school studies. The beginning of the 1900s saw the bible being removed from public schools in response to the country’s increased diversity in religion; notably, this diversity was mostly between Catholics and Protestants. The vast numbers of Catholic immigrants took offense at the use of Protestant bibles being used in schools.

But the growing presence of other religions, and the constitutional separation of church and state, soon made it apparent that no one religion could be used to supplement moral instruction in public schools. In the late 1890s, Felix Adler, founder of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, lectured how the removal of the bible from schools created a void and an aimlessness to education. He promoted the belief that schools needed to address a void that might soon be filled by materialistic greed, and promoted the idea of schools instilling a spirit of public service.

Schools were, and continue to be, conscious of their responsibility to promote moral character. The Cold war era in the United States created a period where moral education was slightly subservient to increased academic requirements and civic instruction with an emphasis on patriotism rather than morality. The 1960s ushered in an era of social upheaval in America that made it very difficult to find common ground, and many schools were reluctant to enter the fray. Morals became a matter of subjectivity that many felt was the domain of the family. Today, administrators like Principal Silverstein seek out family involvement,

“Knowing that it truly does “take a village to raise a child,” we are always looking for ways to foster meaningful parent involvement. This is especially important with our character education initiative, as the success of our program is dependent upon meaningful collaboration between the home and the school. Toward that end, updates on our program are provided at monthly PTO meetings, letters are sent to parents when their children are nominated as Pillars of Character, and we have a PTO committee which is always looking to bring character-related assembly programs into the school.”

Although the removal of religious instruction as the basis for moral instruction in the primary grades was originally problematic, it eventually led to more effective methods. Lectures on morality were replaced with efforts we see today with the development of a positive school climate and community service activities for students. Many of the recent efforts were originally born out of prevention programs, but the country as a whole is again interested in providing a sense of common moral ground for youth. Many research studies show that character education leads to a decline in many behavioral problems and substance abuse.

One behavioral issue facing schools is traditional schoolyard bullying combined with modern cyber-bullying. With regard to bullying problems, Principal Silverstein says,

“The program has helped to foster a culture wherein bullying is simply unacceptable. This is not to say that we never have incidents of students exhibiting maladaptive or antisocial behaviors. However, when such incidents arise, our character education program provides us with an opportunity to address students in a meaningful, positive, and educational manner. The research tells us that it is more valuable to reinforce positive behavioral expectations than it is to chide students for negative behavior. Our experience is supporting that research.”