Term Paper on "Character Education"

Term Paper 5 pages (1787 words) Sources: 5 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Diversity and Character Education

Character Education and Diversity: An ongoing debate in today's schools and workplace

That young man has character." "That young lady is going on a camping expedition. That should really build up her character!" These words of wisdom, spoken by many of our elders, reflect an understanding of the word 'character' as a moral value. A character is not simply a person in a novel or play. Of course, any liberal studies major with a grounding in the humanities will be well aware of the fact that characters, in a literary sense, are enclosed entities or actors, often with somewhat predictable patterns of behavior in a tale. Human beings in the real world aren't quite so predictable. But having a good character is, in part, having a set of values that is strong and resistant to negative outside influences, yet is not so inflexible as to become a stereotype. And to reinforce good character traits in the school and workplace environment, however, can prove a challenge.

According to the most recent definition of "character," provided by the Merriam- Webster Dictionary, the etymology of the word comes from Middle English caracter, which itself derives from the Latin word character, or to "mark with a distinctive quality." ("Character," 2006, Merriam-Webster Dictionary) The Latin word came from the Greek word for scratching and engraving. Hence the original sense of the word character as something written firmly, as if in stone, and the current positive or negative sense of a personal character being fixed and unalterable, like a letter engraved in a stylus. The first definition provided by Merriam Webster is "a conventionalized graphic device placed on an object as an indication of ownership, origin, or relationship," or "a graphic symbol (as a hieroglyph or alphabet letter) used in writing or printing," or a "style of writing or printing, or "a symbol (as a letter or number) that represents information." ("Character," 2006, Merriam-Webster Dictionary The second dictionary definition is "one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual" and only the sixth and seventh definitions state that character is "moral excellence and firmness" usually "person marked by notable or conspicuous traits," or one of the persons of a drama or novel." ("Character," 2006, Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

It is this last definition of character that has obsessed moral educators today. Building character has become an industry for both the young and old. One nonsectarian organization devoted to building the characters of America's youth defines character as thus: "Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship."

The Six Pillars of Character," 2006, Making Ethical Decisions) Yet even this youth and educational website, for all of its authoritarian prose, stresses the difficulty of striking a balance between sticking to personal core beliefs, and showing respect, fairness, and kindness and tolerance towards others. Having a good character is striking a balance between community and individualism, not an exact science.

The website defines a good character largely in the abstract, making such broad, sweeping generalizations as: "Trustworthiness is the most complicated of the six core ethical values and concerns a variety of qualities like honesty, integrity, reliability and loyalty." (The Six Pillars of Character," 2006, Making Ethical Decisions) It occasionally qualifies its statements with assertions such as "honesty is not an inviolate principle. Occasionally, dishonesty is ethically justifiable, as when the police lie in undercover operations or when one lies to criminals or terrorists to save lives." (The Six Pillars of Character," 2006, Making Ethical Decisions)

This is not necessarily to fault the website "Character Counts," which run by "the largest character education program in the nation," but merely to note the complexity of the concept of character, and how many situational qualifications may attach to notions of what constitutes upstanding character, especially in a diverse environment with many competing interpretations of morality. (Bier & Berkowitz, 2005, p.1) Its stress upon citizenship, and community and social ingegration as a promoting influence for instilling a character in the hearts and minds of young people is noteworthy, given that a "high measure of 'school connectedness'" is often thought to help keep students from "getting involved in risky behaviors involving alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco, and violence (including suicide)." (Bier & Berkowitz, 2005, p.4)

Building character in the nation's next generation of leaders is an obsession of politicians, who have used tax dollars to fund character education in the schools. "In 2002, President Bush tripled annual funding for the Partnerships in Character Education Grant Program to $25 Million and in 2003 the U.S. Department of Education's Institute for Educational Science funded the Social and Character Development Research Program." (Bier & Berkowitz, 2005, p.1) The bipartisan support for the initiative was spawned, amongst conservatives, for a yearning "for a return to an era of greater spirituality and religiosity," and amongst liberals to "strengthen the ethical, social, and emotional development of children," in a world where "wanton corruption, incompetence, and greed on display at so many of the nation's most prestigious institutions" seems rampant. (Bier & Berkowitz, 2005, p.1) "In an increasingly diverse society there is an increased need to foster habits of respect and tolerance in the nation's youth." (Bier & Berkowitz, 2005, p.1)

But with so many different agendas, of course, no singular definition of character can emerge from such initiatives. A recent study suggested that such school-based programs are effective, if they are concrete, incorporate peer leadership, teacher involvement and mentoring, and have an explicit agenda that is integrated into regular classroom life. (Bier & Berkowitz, 2005, p.3) Yet despite such positive views regarding these programs, it is not always clear that knowing what is a good character translates into proactive moral actions: "The 2002 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth sampled 12,000 high school students across the United States and revealed the following results: (a) 74% admitted to having cheated on an exam in the past year, (b) 38% admitted to having stolen something from a store within the past year, - 43% believed one had to lie or cheat to get ahead in life," yet (d) 95% of students believed it was important for people to be trustworthy (Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2002, cited by Britzman, 2005). In short, to paraphase Spike Lee, students knew they should "do the right thing," or be trustworthy, but they seldom followed their own positive advice.

In the workplace, explicitness regarding what moral standards are expected of employees in regards to tolerance is, for legal as well as moral reasons, especially necessary. But workplace examples of character and diversity education suggest that perhaps, rather than talking about character in the abstract, it is better to examine how character functions in a specific context, and how this education in moral values must be tailored to suit the settings. "Diversity is everywhere. Just as it takes more than one instrument to make an orchestra and more than one ingredient to bake a cake, it takes more than one type of employee to create a dynamic work environment in today's long-term care marketplace" observers one writer for the professional journal Nursing Homes, but every workplace has different standards anddiversity demands (Hoban, 2005,p.1)

In one nursing home, when "complaints arising simply from miscommunication among races or situations that resulted because of cultural misunderstanding," became frequent, the human resources department decided to take proactive steps to integrate diversity training and character building exercises into the workplace environment. They deemed this especially critical, given that the healthcare field is becoming increasingly populated by younger African-American, Hispanic, and Cambodian persons, who are now working side-by-side older, Caucasion employees that have been employed in the field all of their lives. (Hoban, 2005, p.1)

There was a clash of ages, morals and cultures, and the older employees needed embrace change and diversity, just as the new employees needed to learn to tolerate the other workers. An outside organization provided consulting and training services to help facilitate the organization's needs related to diversity. Employees were given questionaires to fill out to stimulate discussion about cultural attitudes regarding aging. "Aging is a process we will all face -- regardless of race, gender, background, or culture -- should we live long enough." (Hoban, 2005, p.1) Stimulating communication and dicussion was the goal of these questions. Now, "education is an ongoing commitment," at the home, as diversity and character-building have become regular organizational features in the staff schedule. This ongoing nature allows the organization to tailor diversity education and character education to specifically evolving needs, rather than formulating the program around abstract principles. (Hoban, 2005, p.2)

For example, "A each week during the month, guided conversations focus on a specific type of diversity. The first week's dialogue focused on the subject of sexual orientation. Subsequent weeks will feature dialogues on disabilities, religion, and even the challenges involved in living and working in a smoking/nonsmoking culture." (Hoban, 2005, p.2) For example, diabetes affects a number of the members of the nursing home, and it touches upon food issues that may be viewed… READ MORE

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