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Jim Clark, President of the Boys & Girls Club of America, is Character.org’s 2023 ‘Ethics In Action’ Award Recipient

Character.org has selected Michele Borba, Ed.D. to receive the 2021 Sanford N. McDonnell Award for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education. The “Sandy Award” is named in honor of Sandy McDonnell, one of the driving forces behind the current character education movement in the United States.

Character.org Announces Dr.Phil Brown as their 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Four Ways to Help Students Develop Their Commitment Muscle

By Dr. Arthur Schwartz This spring Character.org featured a series of articles, podcasts, and webinars under the banner “Ethics in Action.” Supported by a grant from The School for Ethical Education, the series explored a range of concepts and practices to foster...

Character.org Announces Results of 2023 Laws of Life Essay Contest For Students

Washington, D.C. (May 24, 2023) - Character.org is pleased to announce the results of its 2023 Laws of Life essay contest. The Laws of Life essay contest encourages elementary, middle school and high school students to reflect and write about a core value that means...

Using Ethical Dilemmas in the Classroom

By David B. Wangaard, Ed.D. President, The School for Ethical Education In my twenty plus years as a National Schools of Character site evaluator for Character.org, I have rarely observed where schools have a systematic approach to teach students how to address...

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Commitment

Parents need to commit to model and reinforce to their children the core values and character strengths that mean the most to them. They also need to be creative and offer meaningful experiences that illuminate how important these character strengths are to the family’s core values.

Conversations

We know “We need to talk” freaks kids out, but too often parents avoid having conversations about character, especially as children get older. While it may not be easy to talk sometimes, we know from the research that parents who avoid talking to their children about serious matters quickly lose trust and connection.

Celebration

Parents need to find ways for their children to be active participants in their own character growth. Optimal character development occurs when children begin to make self-motivated commitments to consistently practice a core value (e.g. “I want to be the kind of person who is always honest and shows up on time.”) Parents need to celebrate these moments to shape and define individual character.