Adventures in the Counseling World
From the desk of Mallory Malone
Character Education
--Thomas Lickona, Educating for Character
Integrating Character Education
When students feel safe, engaged, and respected, they can focus on their academic goals. Effective character educators ensure that these needs are met. Character education is the foundation upon which students can reach academic achievement. It’s not just about teaching kids to be good. It’s teaching them to be their best.
Character education includes and complements a broad range of educational approaches such as whole child education, service learning, social-emotional learning, and civic education. All share a commitment to helping young people become responsible, caring, and contributing citizens.
Because students spend so much time in school, our schools offer a critically important opportunity to ensure that all students get the support and help they need to reach their full potential. Schools that embrace character education become places people want to be because they bring out the best in everyone.
While not a “quick fix,” character education provides effective solutions to ethical and academic issues such as bullying, cheating, truancy, and dropout rates that are of great concern in many schools. Educators from a diverse array of schools have successfully used character education to transform their school cultures, reduce discipline referrals, increase academic achievement for all learners, develop global citizens, and improve job satisfaction and retention among teachers.
To be effective in schools, character education must involve everyone—school staff, parents, students, and community members—and be part of every school day. It must be integrated into the curriculum as well as school culture. When this happens and school communities unite around developing character, schools see amazing results.
--From the Belton Website
Below are some activities and book suggestions for Tolerance and Self-Discipline (the books that are available will be on the book shelf by the door in the library). It is important that students are receiving character building and education regularly. If you have other ideas to help integrate please feel free to share.
August-Tolerance
September-Self Discipline
Books on Self-Discipline
America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle by David A. Adler
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Crocodiles, Camels and Dugout Canoes: Eight Adventure Episodes by Bo Zaunder
Home Run by Robert Burleigh
My Name is Georgia by Jeanette
Winter Shingebiss: An Ojibwe Legend by Nancy Van Laan
Alex’s Bed by Mary Dickinson
Attila the Angry by Marjorie Sharmat
Caring for my Home by Jane B. Moncure
Don’t Throw Another One, Dover by Beverly Keller
Hang and Dogie by Nick Weiss
Harry Hates Shopping by Ronda and David Armitage
Home Alone by Eleanor Schick
I Never Win! by Judy Delton
I Was So Mad! by Norma Simon
Arthur’s Teacher Trouble by Marc Brown
Babushka’s Doll by Patricia Polacco
Dinner at Alberta’s by Russel Hoban
I Tricked You! by Phyliss Kerr
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
Pigsty by Mark Teague
Spinky Sulks by William Steig
Me First by Helen Lister Galimoto by Karen Williams
Books on Tolerance-Diversity
Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
Madeline in London by Ludwig Bemelmans
My Granny Went to Market by Stella Blackstone
One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
D is for Dancing Dragon: A China Alphabet by Carol Crane
Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley
All the Colors of the Earth by Shelia Hamanaka
A South African Night by Rachel Isadora
Everybody Bonjours! by Leslie Kimmelman
Lala Salama: A Tanzanian Lullaby by Patricia MacLachlan
Mama’s Saris by Pooja Makhijani
There’s a Dolphin in the Grand Canal by John Bemelmans
The Only One Club by Jane Naliboff
It's Okay to be Different By Todd Parr
The Sneetches By Dr. Seuss
Chrysanthemum By Kevin Henkes
Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores By James Howe
Hey, Little Ant By Phillip M Hoose
Bears Feel Sick By Karma Wilson
The Butter Battle Book By Dr Seuss
Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy
What I like about Me!
A Box of Crayons
The Crayon Box that Talked
Black is Brown is Tan By Arnold Adoff
The Hello, Goodbye Window
More More More Said the Baby
Everywhere Babies
Grandfather Counts
I Love Saturdays
My Two Grannies
My two granddads
Odd Velvet
Amazing Grace