Why character education?

When we say, in Reckoning’s mission statement, that our objective is to facilitate personal and social transformation, we then become responsible to deliver. We knew art was essential to get to the core of people where transformation begins. We knew that everyday leadership was necessary to mobilize people to trans- form their corner of the world. But what was the “content” that would drive that transformation?
We decided that it would be character development. This is a perfect fit for what we’re doing through Reckoning because our character is formed by the inner characteristics that define us. At Lynne’s suggestion, we then went to work partnering with the Josephson Institute (www.CharacterCounts.org) who has provided us with a fantastic character development curriculum, K-Senior High. We’re taking that curriculum further by adapting it for at-risk youth, for young adults, and for parents. Then we’re creating art process workshops to be taught throughout the community that focus on the ethical behaviors that will replace destructive ones.

Josephson

Here are Josephson’s dimensions of character education:

Social Dimension – Foster attitudes, habits, and conduct that make individuals constructive members of society.
Personal Dimension – Foster attitudes, habits, and conduct that help individuals live personally meaningful and satisfying lives.

With character education we have a marvelous story of how it’s beginning in Bos en Lommer. An understanding of context is crucial. The Dutch don’t have a vocabulary that prepares them to understand “character education.” They have used the word “character” to describe only people with problematic behavior; these they would describe as “bad characters.”

So when we went into Capabel, a strategic research group in Bos En Lommer that is finishing an eighteen-year study on the neighborhood, they were less than eager about Reckoning’s character education initiative. Shawna thought the way to clarify what we were endeavoring to do in our workshops for parents, was to write a learning task and then lead them through it. These good and con- cerned Capabel researchers could “experience” transformation for themselves.

Go to the Character Education Sample Adult Workshop on this website. Make a copy of the learning task and go over it with your spouse, partner or good friend. Perhaps transformation in the area of “promise keeping” will begin in you. It did