Character Education Partnership, in its first of eleven principles of
character education programs, describes character education by stating:
"Character education holds, as a starting philosophical principle,
that there are widely shared, pivotally important core ethical values –
such as caring, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect for self
and others – that form the basis of good character. A school committed
to character education explicitly names and publicly stands for these
values; promulgates them to all members of the school community; defines
them in terms of behaviors that can be observed in the life of the school;
models these values; studies and discusses them; uses them as the basis of
human relations in the school; celebrates their manifestations in the
school and community; and upholds them by making all school members
accountable to standards of conduct consistent with the core values."
Character Counts! program
holds that the "six pillars" of character include:
School Safety and Security Services believes that such ethical values
play a significant role in creating a safe school climate, as well as a
safe society. We believe that the teaching of these values should
begin at home. Parents, schools, and our broader society must also be
consistent in the messages they send to children by demonstrating these
values and in holding children
accountable for their behavior.
following are offered as leads for information on
character education. The sites also have links to additional related resources:
Character Education Partnership
Character Education Pages
Jefferson Center for
school safety programs include a balance of strategies focused on school
climate, firm and fair discipline, prevention and intervention programs,
strong academic and extracurricular programs, community involvement,
proactive security measures, and crisis preparedness guidelines.
Character education issues can clearly play a role in enhancing the school
climate component of overall comprehensive safe schools plans.