Character education improves school climate and performance on state assessment tests, according to B. David Brooks, Chairman and President of the International Center for Ethics and Workforce Readiness. Brooks is the first speaker in the second annual School of Education Lecture Series, which begins tonight at 7 p.m. in the Gerald R. Ford Museum Auditorium in downtown Grand Rapids.
Brook is the author of Lessons in Character, a K-12 character education curriculum used in more than 60,000 classrooms. Brooks has appeared on Good Morning America, 20/20 and other national television programs to discuss character education.
Most experienced educators agree that the culture of schools has changed significantly in the past 10 years, says Robert Hagerty, dean of GVSU's School of Education. Bullying, student disrespect, and violent language have become commonplace in many schools. Recent violence in Colorado and Arkansas demonstrates that even high achieving suburban schools are not immune from the most violent acts.
Hagerty says that many teachers and administrators have turned to character education as a way to combat school violence. The four speakers in the GVSU School of Education Lecture Series will offer deep insights and practical advice on the subject beginning Monday, October 11, and continuing for three consecutive Monday evenings, October 18, 25, and November 1.
The remaining speakers in the School of Education Fall Lecture Series include:
- Monday, October 18--Henry Huffman, director of the Character Education Institute at California University of Pennsylvania and the author of numerous articles on character education. Huffman will address helping schools and communities build consensus for character education.
- Monday, October 25--Eleanore Childs, a defense attorney and child psychologist who became concerned with the attitudes of young people and is now active in efforts to promote character education, including the Council for Global Education and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in Washington D.C. She will speak about effective introduction of core values into a school curriculum.
- Monday, November 1--James Lemming, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, has researched character education for 30 years. He is an expert on character education and school violence. He will explain how core values programs decrease students' anti-social behavior.
