Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgement, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues

From Publishers Weekly
In his timely follow-up to the definitive Educating for Character, Lickona plucks the burden of moral corruption from society at large and plants it squarely in the laps of parents and teachers. He describes a society nearly bereft of character, and proposes that the solution is to awaken children's social consciences. Through a series of grim statistics and anecdotes from his research as a psychologist and educator, Lickona illuminates a culture that is lost (but not hopelessly), due largely to an overemphasis on academic achievement in lieu of formal character education. "The disturbing behaviors that bombard us daily-violence, greed, corruption, incivility, drug abuse, sexual immorality, and a poor work ethic-have a common core: the absence of good character." He defines 10 essential virtues that comprise good character and prescribes a six-part remedy, including modeling virtuous behavior, building a strong home-school partnership and getting involved with communities. Quotes from Aristotle, Martin Luther King Jr. and others make more eloquent points for why character matters, but the author's passion for creating a more civil and harmonious world is evident and inspiring. Lickona admits that changing the moral fiber of an entire generation is a lofty goal and that his solutions are ambitious: "The social-moral problems that beset our society have deep roots and require systematic solutions." However, this book can be one small step along that path, if it finds its way into the right hands. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Review
Dr. Stephen R. Covey author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People What an absolutely marvelous book! Greatly needed in restoring the character ethic in a techno/materialistic-obsessed world. Character is primary greatness; prestige is secondary greatness. Extremely valuable practical resource for every parent and teacher. Great gift book.


Book Description
Don't Let Our Kids Flunk Life The novelist Walker Percy once observed, "Some people get all As but flunk life." Succeeding in life takes character. In Character Matters, award-winning psychologist-educator Thomas Lickona offers more than 100 practical strategies that parents and schools have used to help kids build strong personal character as the foundation for a purposeful, productive, and fulfilling life. Lickona shows how irresponsible and destructive behavior can invariably be traced to the absence of good character and its 10 essential qualities: wisdom, justice, fortitude, self-control, love, a positive attitude, hard work, integrity, gratitude, and humility. He lays out a blueprint for building these core virtues through a partnership shared by families, schools, and communities. Chapters include: 14 strategies that help kids succeed academically while building character More than a dozen character-building discipline strategies 20 ways to prevent peer cruelty and promote kindness 10 ways to talk to teens about sex, love, and character The culmination of a lifetime's work in character education, this landmark book gives us the tools we need to raise respectful and responsible children, create safe and effective schools, and build the caring and decent society in which we all want to live.


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"Don't Let Our Kids Flunk Life The novelist Walker Percy once observed, ""Some people get all As but flunk life."" Succeeding in life takes character. In Character Matters, award-winning psychologist-educator Thomas Lickona offers more than 100 practical strategies that parents and schools have used to help kids build strong personal character as the foundation for a purposeful, productive, and fulfilling life. "


About the Author
Thomas Lickona is a developmental psychologist and professor of education at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he directs the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (respect and responsibility). The recipient of the Sandy Lifetime Achievement Award from the Character Education Partnership, he is the author of Educating for Character, which has been called "the bible of the character education movement."


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Lickona, an award-winning educator and psychologist, follows his renowned Educating for Character with this helpful, step-by-step program for implementing character education at home, in school, or even throughout a collective community. After defining why it's important to teach character, Lickona tackles teaching manners, preventing peer cruelty and promoting kindness, and helping kids take responsibility for their character. In each section, he provides valuable questions for inspiring ethical discussions with children, point-by-point tips for addressing a certain topic or audience (e.g., character-based discipline, teaching daily goal setting), and anecdotes of successful value-driven families, classrooms, and communities. The author emphasizes the importance of parents being the first and strongest teachers of children but also stresses the value of strong home-school connections (e.g., an approach that allows families to determine which sexuality values to teach, while the school provides the framework for the conversation). Though based on the philosophy of Educating for Character, this book is different in that it outlines more strategies for implementing character education. Highly recommended for child-rearing and education collections.-Charity Peak, Regis Univ., Colorado Springs Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.


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