Character education implies the teaching of good habits of thought and deed that enable people to live and work together harmoniously. It teaches kids to live positively as families, friends, neighbors and communities. These core values are inculcated in a kid so that he or she can grow up to be a well informed, balanced and dutiful citizen. These core values are also focused on respect, justice, civic virtue, service to others and character development. Since our formative years are spent in school character education programs in school can positively shape up a child’s program very successfully.
Keeping the above objective in mind, the onus of teaching kids to be morally sound and ethical can only be bought about with character ed programs in schools that help inculcate the seeds of a strong moral character in a child. These programs should be wide enough to focus on a wide range of virtues and activities that can contribute to effective character building in kids. Kids can go in for skits, writing essays and visiting the classrooms of younger children and telling them about the virtues that they have learned. There are many ways in which schools can implement character education in the curriculum. These activities can help the kid get the overall social grooming that is required to help him or her grow up to be morally sound.
The use of class meetings is also a strong and effective means to address moral virtues among students in the class. These meetings help the students discuss with the teacher about some specific practical situations. They can discuss about the feelings and the perspectives of others when they are discussing these issues. Character education can be used as a guide when these discussions are being done. These interactions will help the students to respect and treat with each other with dignity. The use of children’s literature is also an effective means to communicate positive messages to the kids.
The kids in the above character ed programs can also inculcate social skills in the students and teach them about life skills. These skills will help them face all kinds of situations with a balanced approach instead of being confused on what to do. There are many character education programs that can also bring about positive personality development in a child as well. These programs make the child a mature and social responsible person. These quality education programs help the kid to develop safely and in a care giving environment.
Character building in schools is uniform and all the students are taught in the same manner. Such programs cannot be taught at home as parents may not be aware of the right techniques to do so. In fact, this responsibility should be shared among teachers, parents and other members of the community as children are our future generation of society. They should be brought up with care and positive knowledge and skills should be passed onto them so that grow up to be socially responsible citizens of the country.