Bringing in a New Era in Character Education (Hoover Institution Press Publication)

Education in the United States has at last ended its failed experiment with separating the intellectual from the moral—and schools from K–12 to college campuses are increasingly paying attention to students' values and accepting responsibility for students' character. But how can we bring in this new era in character education in a way that makes the right kind of difference to young people? What are the approaches that will provide character education the solid foundation necessary to sustain it now and into the future? What obstacles in our current educational system must we overcome, and what new opportunities can we create? This book provides a unique perspective on what is needed to overcome the remaining impediments and make character education an effective, lasting part of our educational agenda. Each chapter points out the directions that character education must take today and offers strategies essential for making progress in the field. The expert contributors explain, for instance, how we can pass core values down to the younger generation in ways that will elevate their conduct and their life goals. They reveal why relativism has threatened the moral development of young people in our time—and what we can do to turn this around. And they show the critical importance of reestablishing student morality and character as targets of higher education's central mission. The authors make a strong case for "moral exemplarity"—actual human examples of moral excellence—as an effective tool of educational practice and describe how stoic "warrior" principles can offer a moral manner of managing one's emotions in times of pressure. Perhaps most important, they clarify the necessity of authority in any moral education endeavor—and show how it is actually a powerful force for both personal freedom and character building. "Schools from K-12 to college campuses are increasingly paying attention to students' values and accepting responsibility for students' character. But how can we bring in this new era in character education in a way that makes the right kind of difference to young people? What are the approaches that will provide character education the solid foundation necessary to sustain it now and into the future? What obstacles in our current educational system must we overcome, and what new opportunities can we create?" "Bringing in a New Era in Character Education answers these questions, pointing out the directions that character education must take today and offering strategies essential for making progress in the field. The expert contributors explain how we can pass core values down to the younger generation in ways that will elevate their conduct and their life goals. They reveal why relativism has threatened the moral development of young people in our time - and what we can do to turn this around. And they show the critical importance of reestablishing student morality and character as targets of higher education's central mission." "The authors make a case for "moral exemplarity"--Actual human examples of moral excellence - as an effective tool of educational practice and describe how stoic warrior principles can offer a moral manner of managing one's emotions in times of pressure. Perhaps most important, they clarify the necessity of authority in any moral education endeavor - and show how it is actually a powerful force for both personal freedom and character building."--Jacket

Schools from K-12 to college campuses are increasingly paying attention to students' values and accepting responsibility for students' character. But how can we bring in this new era in character education in a way that makes the right kind of difference to young people? What are the approaches that will provide character education the solid foundation necessary to sustain it now and into the future? What obstacles in our current educational system must we overcome, and what new opportunities can we create? Bringing in a New Era in Character Education answers these questions, pointing out the directions that character education must take today and offering strategies essential for making progress in the field. The expert contributors explain how we can pass core values down to the younger generation in ways that will elevate their conduct and their life goals. They reveal why relativism has threatened the moral development of young people in our time - and what we can do to turn this around. And they show the critical importance of reestablishing student morality and character as targets of higher education's central mission. The authors make a case for moral exemplarity - actual human examples of moral excellence - as an effective tool of educational practice and describe how stoic warrior principles can offer a moral manner of managing one's emotions in times of pressure. Perhaps most important, they clarify the necessity of authority in any moral education endeavor - and show how it is actually a powerful force for both personal freedom and character building.

The educational system in the United States has ended its failed experiment with separating the intellectual from the moral. Schools from K–12 to colleges and universities are increasingly paying attention to students'values and character. But how can we ensure this new era in character education makes the right kind of difference to young people? What obstacles in our current educational system must we overcome, and what new opportunities can we create? This anthology offers unique perspectives on what is needed to make character education an effective, lasting part of our educational agenda. Each chapter points out the directions that character education must take today and offers strategies essential for progress. The expert contributors reveal why relativism has threatened the moral development of young people in our time—and how we can pass core values down to new generations of students in ways that will elevate their conduct and their life goals. And they show the critical importance of reestablishing student morality and character as targets of higher education's central mission. Perhaps most important, they clarify the necessity of authority in any moral education endeavor—and show how it is a powerful force for developing personal freedom and building character. The nine essays in this book present perspectives on what is needed in character education from kindergarten to college. Two main themes run through the volume. The first is a consensus among the authors that fundamental moral standards must be passed along to the young and that educators at all levels bear the obligation to transmit these core standards to their students. The second is a shared determination to discard old oppositions that have paralyzed some of the best efforts in character education over the past several decades. The essays are titled as follows: "Transmitting Moral Wisdom in an Age of the Autonomous Self" (Arthur J. Schwartz); "How Moral Education Is Finding Its Way Back into American's Schools" (Christina Hoff Sommers); "The Science of Character Education" (Marvin W. Berkowitz); "Moral Exemplarity" (Lawrence J. Walker); "Educating the Stoic Warrior" (Nancy Sherman); "A Communitarian Position on Character Education" (Amitai Etzioni); "Building Democratic Community: A Radical Approach to Moral Education" (F. Clark Power); "Whose Values Anyway?" (Anne Colby); and "Moral and Ethical Development in a Democratic Society" (Irving Kristol). (WFA) ALTHOUGH THERE REMAIN a few skirmishes here and there, the reports from the front lines are decisive: the battle over the question "Whose values?" has ended.