Character education is the effort to
help students understand, care about, and act upon core ethical values (Elkind
& Sweet, 2004). Everyone in the school community is a character educator,
whether they are teachers, administrators, or custodians. Each member is
helping to shape the character of the children they come into contact with
through the way they talk, the behaviours they model, the conduct they tolerate,
and the expectations they have (Elkind & Sweet, 2004). With this being
said, I would argue that character education is very much part of the hidden
curriculum. It is interwoven into many aspects of school life, from how
students and staff greet each other, to how discussions occur in the classroom,
and the expectations of students during sports activities (Drake, Reid, &
Kolohon, 2014). In my work as a Tutor in the Classroom, I observe character education all the time. Particularly when the teacher is faced with a "teachable moment," they use the opportunity to address the class and teach them about the values they should hold in order to be kind and caring individuals. For example, when a child was exhibiting behaviours that did not represent respect, the teacher I was working with talked about respect and what it means so that his students were more likely to understand and be respectful within the classroom.
Since the objective and value-free
education of the mid-1990s, education took a significant shift in order to
educate effectively for students of the 21st century. The four
pillars of education for the 21st century are learning to know,
learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together (Drake et al., 2014). Most educators today recognize the importance of the “Be”
aspect of the curriculum. Character education has become an important part of
Ontario’s K-12 program (Drake et al., 2014). I noticed when
looking at the front matter of the Ontario and British Colombia Social Studies curricula that they focused heavily on creating active citizens by educating
them holistically.
It is important that children are engaged in activities that make them critically think about moral and ethical questions and give them opportunities to practice moral and ethical behaviour (Elkind & Sweets, 2004). Throughout my experiences as a student, I don't remember doing specific activities that related to character education within the classroom. As a result, in this blog, I will discuss some of the activities that
can be used within an elementary school classroom in order to integrate character
education into students’ learning.
This website provides educators with
great ways to teach various aspects of character education in the classroom,
such as trustworthiness, responsibility, and caring for others (Elkind &
Sweet, n.d.). Teachers can purchase the videos in order to demonstrate the
character trait they are teaching about to provide the class with examples of
how to demonstrate the trait appropriately. They can also do the activities
with their students. One of the activities I thought would be effective in
order to teach respect was by brainstorming a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” for
treating people with respect (Elkind & Sweet, n.d.). You could use this
list to create a “Respect Contract” in which the students could lay out a set
of rules for having a respectful classroom. I believe that this would be
effective as it allows students to have a voice within the classroom. They are
able to come up with a list of rules collaboratively with the teacher and their
peers which would help them to understand the rules and why they are in place.
In addition, students learn in an engaging manner what respect means and how to
demonstrate it. This could be an extremely beneficial activity for the
beginning of the school year so that students know what behaviour and character
traits are expected of them in the classroom.
Another activity that can be
incorporated into the classroom is “Bucket Filling.” The concept is based on
the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by
Carol McCloud. In addition to being loved, children need to learn how to love
others so that they can lead happier lives (Sherman Elementary, 2015).
It is important to teach students that when they love and care about others and
show that love through what they say and do, they will be able to fill their
own buckets as well as others' buckets.
How full is your bucket? For kids [Video]. (2012). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5R6-2m_qHk
This
story is a shortened version of the original story, written by Rath and Reckmeyer (2009).
This picture book conveys a powerful message about how little acts of love and
appreciation can affect the well-being of others (Rath & Reckmeyer, 2009).
Filling
buckets is an interesting way to teach character education. They learn how they
can be bucket fillers and bucket dippers.
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| A bucket filling classroom [Image]. (2014). Retrieved from http://crafting-connections.blogspot.ca/2014/09/anchors-away-monday-9114-bucket-filling.html |
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| Bucket filler anchor chart [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.ca/2011/08/bucket-fillers.html
A
bucket filling moment is when a student helps someone out, shows appreciation,
or uses kind words with others. These acts of kindness fill the invisible
buckets of others and the buckets of the students participating in these acts
(Ready Teacher, n.d.). In contrast, a bucket dipper is someone who says unkind
words or who misbehaves. They dip into the buckets of others and keep their own
buckets empty as well (Ready Teacher, n.d.).
|
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| A drop for your bucket [Image]. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/502362533413464977/ |
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| Bucket fillers [Photograph]. (2011). Retrieved from http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.ca/2011/08/bucket-fillers.html
As demonstrated through this
picture, bucket filling can also be used in the classroom through reward
systems. Teachers can give out drops for students’ buckets when they catch them
participating in acts of kindness. This can help promote appropriate behaviour
in the classroom as well as teaching students to be kind to one another. The
bucket filling concept is certainly one that I would consider using in my
future classroom in order to teach character education.
Character education at Julian Elementary [Video]. (2010). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaaZTprxg8Y
Finally, this video provides some
amazing ways to incorporate character education into schools and create a
welcoming community fit for successful learning. I loved how the school had character
traits painted around the school showing what they expected students to
demonstrate. From friendship groups to teach children
social skills, to the peaceful playground that has colourful game markers and
one set of rules per game in order to keep children engaged and playing fairly
at recess, it seems like Julian Elementary school has thought of it all when it
comes to teaching about character. It was amazing to see the vast amounts of
activities that the school has running that help to teach students how to Be.
Although character education is being emphasized in today’s
curriculum and in classrooms, a downside to character education is that it is
value-laden. Particularly in Canada, a country that is both multicultural and
diverse, this is a significant issue (Drake et al., 2014). With that being
said, how can we decide whose values are considered the “right” values and
which values are worthy of cultivating? How can we address cultural differences
when teaching career education?
References
A bucket filling classroom [Image]. (2014). Retrieved from http://crafting-connections.blogspot.ca/2014/09/anchors- away-monday-9114-bucket-filling.html
A drop for your bucket [Image]. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/502362533413464977/
Bucket fillers [Photograph]. (2011). Retrieved from http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.ca/2011/08/bucket-fillers.html
Bucket filler anchor chart [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.ca/2011/08/bucket-fillers.html
Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W.
(2014). Interweaving
Curriculum and Classroom Assessment:
Engaging the 21st Century
Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Elkind, D. H. & Sweet, F. (2004). How to do character education. Retrieved from http://www.goodcharacter.com/Article_4.html
Elkind, D. H. & Sweet, F. (n.d.). Teaching guides (for elementary school). Retrieved from http://www.goodcharacter.com/EStopics.html
Julian Character Education [JulianElementaryEd]. (2010,
November 1). Character education at Julian Elementary [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaaZTprxg8Y
Rath, T. & Reckmeyer, M. (2009). How full is your bucket? For kids. Gallup Press.
Ready Teacher (n.d.). How
full is your bucket? Retrieved from http://readyteacher.com/have-you-filled-a-bucket-today/
Ready Teacher (n.d.). Videos
of bucket filling moments. Retrieved from http://readyteacher.com/video-of-bucket-filling-moments/
Sherman Elementary (2015). A bucket filling school. Retrieved from http://www.watertowncsd.org/Sherman.cfm?subpage=42124
Willow Canyon Wildcat [WillowCanyonWildcat]. (2012, April
15). How full is your bucket? For
kids [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5R6-2m_qHk
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