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Early Colonist/ Protestant Moral Education
The early colonists, particularly Protestants from northern Europe, brought with them a strong commitment to the moral task of child rearing (1). The doctrine of original sin meant that every individual had to be trained to overcome the inherent savage impulses through discipline. The student was to be indoctrinated, by force, if necessary, into the norms of society. (2) -
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Pre-Revolutionary Colonial America
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First English Settlement
The first permanent English settlement was established in 1620 with the founding of Plymouth Colony by the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower. -
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Revolutionary War
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Noah Webster's Spelling Book
In the 1780s, Noah Webster (of the Webster dictionary) helped lead a movement to revamp America's education system. He had a profound impact on American education, mostly through the "Spelling Book" he authored. "This little book which taught millions of Americans to spell, sold more copies and influenced more young lives than any other secular book in American history" (4). "His texts were [also] designed to educate the masses to be virtuous" (5). -
Jefferson's Vision
After the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson and other leading political figures were strong supporters of schools. They were interested in supporting not only the country’s “intellectual capital”, but also a unified American culture. “[Jefferson’s] solution was for there to be a mechanism put in place by which the immigrants would be converted to American values, principles, and morality. The vehicle for this Americanization, by design, was the school” (3) -
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Wave of Immigration
For educational reformers, and self-proclaimed protectors of
Protestant Anglo-American culture (such as Horace Mann), an influx of Irish-Catholic immigrants, as well as the growing number of enslaved Africans presented a threat (8) "'Common' education became a political tool where the emerging middle class sought to preserve a lifestyle that appeared to be in danger. The school was envisioned as a means of maintaining class differentiation and of safe-keeping middle class morals and values" (9). -
"McGuffy Readers" first published
A series of 7 books with stories and poems, which were "standard schoolbooks in thirty-seven states" after the Civil War. "The lessons in the Reader were designed not only to teach children reading and grammar, but also to help them to develop good moral behavior" (6). The virtues most characterized in the Reader were the “love of nature,” emphasizing the beauty that comes from God, and “charity,” emphasizing the virtue of industry and prosperity" (7). -
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Shift in Theories of Behavior Development
"The idea of the child as depraved and the belief that morals and good character were absolutes, which were dictated to humanity by the Christian religion, slowly eroded. The writings of Charles Darwin and Karl Marx began trickling down to the educational theorists touting that human systems of thought and behavior evolved as the result of contingent and, for Darwin, random events, rather than in accordance with the higher purposes of God" (22). -
Darwin publishes Theory of Evolution in "On the Origin of Species"
Darwin's Theory of Evolution had unforseen implications for the direction of Character Education in the U.S. -
Hampton Institute, founded
“Some educators applied Darwin’s theory to matters of race and culture. The Hampton Institute instructed both Blacks and Indians in understanding the idea of the ‘scale of civilization’, in which the level of civilization a particular race had acquired determined their place along a continuum. Viewed as a ladder, the top rung was the White race, while the bottom rung represented savagism (the Native American). The school’s ‘moral duty was to assist lower races in becoming civilized" (10). -
Chicago Schools' ban on required reading of Bible
"The increase of legislation and practice against the Bible in public schools eventually spread to other places outside the Chicago systems. However, even in states with legal prohibitions, some communities continued to follow traditional practices of Bible reading and school prayer well into the middle of the twentieth century" (21). -
Chicago schools' ban on all corporal punishment
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Beginnings of Progressive Education
Era of early progressive educators, such as William Torrey Harris. During this progressive era, traditionally acceptable aims of moral education, usually stated in terms of personal salvation before a judging God, were being rejected as too sectarian. “Character” became the preferred response to the need to fill education’s moral void (11), and was seen as a "universally acceptable educational goal" that could "somehow bridge the ideological differences of America’s new pluralism" (12). -
Felix Adler publishes "Moral Education of Children"
In the wake of the divorce between religion and education, this book addressed the fact that "the teacher was now required to give the student a clear understanding of what is right and what is wrong, but without the traditional moral basis for instruction". "An explanation for why one should not steal was no longer tied to punishment from God", but was presented as "a violation of others’ rights to property, and protection of one’s right to property" (13). This book exemplified these new ideas. -
Effect of the rise of corporate America
"The expansion of education for the corporate segment was spurred on by a desire to discipline a newly created middle management sector in society. As well, corporate America still saw the need to Americanize a growing Asian American immigrant population" (14). In the meantime, "educators were attempting to restructure their framework of moral instruction in light of the demands of a distinctly modern society" (15). -
Character education advocates: studies and recommendations
Character education advocate E. L. Thorndike publishes findings from his empirical studies of character. He concluded “moral character, intelligence, and social worth were all tied closely together and biologically rooted”. “This study, and a host of others that had their grounding in evolutionary genetics, posted findings that showed moral inferiority and low intellect among immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans. The call from these researchers was for segregated classrooms" (20) -
The Character Education Movement
Many bemoan the departure from religious-based morals in increasingly secular schools. "A competition is sponsored by the Character Education Institute, for 'the best method of character education in public schools causing educators in almost every state to expend considerable energy on developing character education programs. Character education advocates sought to preserve traditional values through the teaching of specific virtues and the development of good character" (16). -
Progressives make a diverging shift
"This shift could be seen in a statement made by the 1918 Committee on the Reorganization of Secondary Education: 'education in a democracy.... should develop in each individual the knowledge, interests, ideals, habits and powers whereby he will find his place and use that place to shape both himself and society toward ever nobler ends'" (17). -
The Hartshorne and May study
“The major study was aimed at determining the ‘effects of moral education, both secular and religious, on students’ character-related behavior’” and basically concluded that, “character education programs, religious instruction, and moral training had no effect on the moral conduct of the students as measure in this study” (18). -
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World War II
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WW II Influence on Morals
"There was a reaffirmation of character education during the turbulent years of World War II. The war was viewed as a 'moral contest in which the values of democracy and decency were arrayed against the forces of authoritarianism and evil, and classrooms were expected to play an important role in the battle' (23). -
Early Cold War - A good person is a good citizen
"In the aftermath of World War II, character education would gradually shift towards a civics focus with the encroaching Cold War" (24). "Postwar public education would spawn innovations such as homerooms, additional student clubs, and citizenship or conduct grades" (25). -
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The Cold War Era
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Shift in Cold-War Era moral education
“postwar Americans began to demand that schools emphasize high-level academic and cognitive skills, often at the expense of the various forms of moral, civic, and social education that had been emphasized by earlier generations” (26). The focus of character education was gradually changing, due in part to a growing need for high-level technical skills. "The change was attributed less to a disdain for character education and more to shifts in societal and educational priorities" (27). -
School sponsored prayer declared illegal by Supreme Court
Supreme Court, declared school sponsored prayer illegal in 1962 and Bible reading over the school intercom unconstitutional in 1963.
According to a June 5, 2013 article in The Nation, corporal punishment in schools is still legal in 19 states. In 2012, Mississippian schools alone hosted 39,000 floggings, often for minor things like “having a shirt untucked, being tardy, or talking in class or in the hallway". In these states, the 14% of students with disabilities comprise 19% of those beaten. -
60s/70s Temporary demise of Character Education
"[There was] little or no consensus on common values for public schools" (28). “Faced with knotty problems, most notable racial division, teachers and administrators were only too happy to flee from the task of moral education...” (29). "The 60s and 70s gave rise to...a movement called values clarification where no teacher was to dictate moral behavior (30). '...values clarification made the mistake of treating kids like grow-ups who only needed to clarify values that were already sound'" (31) -
1980s Resurgence of Traditional Character Ed.
Educational leaders described a serious moral decline in society. Bennett referred to crime, illegitimate births, single-parent homes, and divorce as exploding “social pathologies”. Lickona remarked on “ten troubling trends in youth character”, among them - peer cruelty, a resurgence of bigotry, sexual precocity and ethical illiteracy. Such character education leaders successfully launched a public moral crusade (28). -
The CEP's Missouri Roots
Sanford N. McDonnell leads the foundation of Personal Responsibility Education Process (PREP), as a project of Cooperating School Districts of Missouri. The name was later changed to CharacterPlus. In 1992, the U.S. Dept of Education awarded PREP a large grant to advance character education as an integrated, essential part of learning. In 1993, the concept of PREP was taken to a national level as McDonnell established the Character Education Partnership (CEP) and was appointed to its Board. -
Josephson Institute's "Character Counts!" Founded - Six Pillars
Character Counts! is a non-profit, nationwide Character Education initiative with many education, community and business members. The Institute holds that ethical obligations are based on common ethical values applicable and knowable to all, regardless of gender, race, age, politics, or religion. Values identified by the institute, called the Six Pillars of Character, are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. -
The Character Education Partnership (CEP)
Sanford N. McDonnel helps found the CEP. A nonpartisan coalition of organizations dedicated to developing moral character and civic virtue in young people as a way of promoting a more compassionate and responsible society. Their list of "Key Topics" includes academic achievement and integrity, bullying prevention, school climate and service learning. Activities include a national clearinghouse, community programs, school support, publications, annual and regional forums, and media campaign. -
Character Counts! Week
President Bill Clinton proclaimed the week of October 16, 1994 as "Character Counts!" week. In his proclamation speech, he talked about, "setting high standards of compassion, understanding, and community involvement" and redoubling "efforts to improve student learning, responsibility, and sense of belonging." Every year since then, every administration has proclaimed the third week in October as "Character Counts!" week. -
Clinton's first State of the Union address
Clinton rolled out “Call to Action for American Education” based on 10 principles. The 6th dealt specifically with character. In describing it, he said, “Character education must be taught in our schools. We must teach our children to be good citizens, and we must continue to promote order and discipline, supporting communities that introduce school uniforms, impose curfews, enforce truancy laws, remove disruptive students from the classroom, and have zero tolerance for guns and drugs in school. -
No Child Left Behind passed by congress
NCLB funds the Partnerships in Character Education Program. The fund was designed to support, by award of grants, the design and implementation of Character Education programs, supporting "core ethical values such as respect, justice, civic virtue and citizenship, and responsibility for self and others.” Critics of NCLB say its focus on high-stakes testing leaves little time and resources for character education. Obama defunds the initiative in 2009, citing redundancy with other programs. -
Obama defunds the Partnership in Character Education (NCLB) program
Time of economic crisis, and tightening of fiscal belts. -
Current Funding for Character Education
Many schools pay for character education materials and training with federal funding under Titles I and II for professional development, or through Title IV Safe and Drug Free Schools. Some states set aside funds for character education. Other resources include non-profit organizations, private endowments, and corporate sponsorship.
