-
Benjamin Franklin
As one of the founding fathers of our country, Franklin had great influence guiding education in the 1700's While he helped develop higher education institutions, he also saw a great need for teaching morality in the public schools. He believed that students learn about their own character as well as the character of their families and country. By teaching morals in the classroom, students would be better behaved and in turn, the classrooms would be more successful (Watz, 2011). -
William McGuffey
McGuffey was an educator in the 1800's. He began teaching at the age of 14. He developed a system for reading where the students would learn to read by using literature and documents that would instill the ideals of morality, hard work, perseverance, self discipline, and kindness. These books would be used in many educational institutions and became better know as the McGuffey Readers (Watz, 2011). -
Junior Reserver Officer Training Corps
The Junior ROTC began with the National Defense Act of 1916 and assigned military equipment and Army instructors to the high schools. Their mission is "to develop citizens of character dedicated to serving their nation and community." The program aimed to "promote community service, instill responsibility, character and self-discipline, and pride in themselves and community" in high schools students. This program continues today and open to all branches of the military ("JROTC History," 2017). -
Emile Durkheim
Durkheim and his work helped to shape the later work by Lawrence Kohlberg. Durkheim's Character Education was based on direct teaching of the virtues and character traits (Nucci, 2014, p. 182). -
McGuffey Reader
The McGuffey Reader becomes the 2nd largest in circulation. Only the Bible had a larger circulation. This reader began being used in the 1800's in schools to not only teach reading, but character as well. Teachers would teach such traits as patriotism, hard work, honesty, and courage through their own example, discipline, and the curriculum provided. The McGuffey Reader became part of that character instruction (Sojourner, 20121). -
Jean Piaget
Piaget believed that when it come to teaching moral character, students must interact and participate in activities. This would include role play, moral dilemma discussions, collaborative peer interactions as well as having a democratic school and classroom environment. He was followed by Lawrence Kohlberg, who used some of his work to later develop his own work (Nucci, 2014, p. 181). -
Lawrence Kohlberg
While Kohlberg followed the idea of Piaget, he later began to rethink the works of Durkheim. Initially he supported the idea that moral teaching must be done with the student fully engaged and participating in the process. After reviewing the work that Durkheim produced, he began to see value in how, sometime, directly teaching has great value. By incorporating the two ideas, he essentially created a hybrid thought on the teaching of character principles (Nucci, 2014, p. 185). -
The Josephson Institute of Ethics
In July, 1992, the Josephson Institute of Ethics brought a group of educators, character education experts, and youth organization leaders to create a statement on character education. This statement would be agreed on by the attendees and would later be issued as the Aspen Declaration on Character Education. This would lead what is now "Character Counts!" strategies with the 6 Pillars of Character ("A Brief History," 2017). -
Columbine High School
Two high school students at Columbine High School opened fire on the students and staff. Twelve students and one staff member were killed before the two took their own lives. Twenty others were injured that day. This event led to a discussion on character education. The questions included what values would be taught and how would they be taught efficiently ("Character Education," 2016). -
California Education Code Section 233.5(a)
The California Ed Code allows character education to be part of the public schools system. The codes states that educators are to impress upon their students the principles of character. The principles include morality, truth, justice, patriotism. Also included are ideals of rights, duties, and dignity. "Kindness toward domestic pets and the humane treatment of living creatures" are also part of this ed code ("The Role of Character Education," 2017).
