Character Education at RSM
From time to time, I share the following saying with pupils and colleagues. It is probably a little complicated for our younger pupils to understand but I think it is really significant as it helps children and adults appreciate that managing our own thought processes is fundamental to our life journey. The saying goes like this, “Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny”.
Anyone who has been involved with Reigate St Mary’s for more than a very short period of time will be aware that we place extremely high value on developing character. All of our Year 6 responsibilities have a focus on developing leadership skills, at the core of which has to be care for others and the environment, putting others needs before your own etc. Thinking in this way leads to positive planned actions and therefore the development of character.
As this is such an important aspect of RSM education, I was delighted when I first had a conversation with the RGS Director of Sport (when he had newly arrived at RGS three years ago) as his mantra is very much in the same vein. So I am pleased that he has shared with us an overview of how he believes sport should be used to develop a student’s character in any sporting endeavour. Do take time to read his article below.
Character Education
Three questions often asked about this subject are: Why is character education so important? What is character? And how do you educate character? I’ll try to introduce some ideas around these questions in this short article.
What is character, and why is it so important?
There is a consensus that the world has entered a difficult period of global leadership where many challenges await. Some people question the moral attitudes and actions of leaders who have significant influence over the key decisions that await, and it is widely agreed that part of the role of education is to produce the next generation of moral leaders. Character Education aims to do just that but much more as well. It is partly about developing people who have ‘good sense’ or what the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, referred to as ‘phronesis’, namely the ability to choose wisely between two alternatives. It is also about strengthening the individual virtues that can make a person achieve their own potential, and to flourish. Character is about developing the combination of virtues that make a person unique and is the product of both an intentional and unintentional process of development through experience and learning. If we are to achieve this, it is important that an education focuses not just on skills and qualifications but on developing the person as well. As Dr Martin Luther King explained: “Intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
Developing character has been an aim of educators for centuries. It has traditionally been seen as something we develop indirectly through participation in activities such as sport, debating or performing arts to name a few, almost as a biproduct of doing those things. For example, learning to lead and to be resilient through sport, or to be more self-confident and disciplined by performing on stage. However, the evidence suggests this has limited success and provides us only with an accidental process by which we might develop character. It’s possible to combine this method of developing character with a more intentional focus. The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues is a global leader in character education and is based at the University of Birmingham. There, the research suggests that character can be developed in three ways:
Character Caught…through a positive school community, formational relationships, and a clear ethos. Students can reflect on their learning experiences and how they may pave the way to become a flourishing, well-rounded individual.
Character Taught …through the curriculum using teaching and learning strategies, activities, and resources. This strategy allows students to focus intentionally on specific virtues and apply them to practical situations.
Character Sought …through chosen experiences that occur within and outside of the formal curriculum. Student’s determination, creativity, curiosity, and willingness to challenge themselves is facilitated through a school’s co-curricular programme, which may include sport, music, performing arts, Academic enrichment, and volunteer service learning to name a few.
“Character virtues should be reinforced everywhere: on the playing fields, in classrooms, corridors, interactions between teachers and pupils, in assemblies, posters, head teacher messages and communications, staff training, and in relations with parents and families”. The Jubilee Centre Framework for Character Education in Schools
Character education should be more than a standalone subject or an accidental process. It is also clear that character is developed through everything we do at school or work, at home, and within our various social networks. This suggests a long-term view of developing character may be key to a producing flourishing individuals, and so character education should go beyond school. Oxford University and Harvard University are among those leading the way in the post-18 educational space to both show the importance of character and to help develop future generations of people who can lead with character. The Oxford Global Leadership Initiative is an example of a post-18 development programme, where university students are trained to lead with purpose and in doing so to develop ‘practical wisdom’. Leading with purpose helps to integrate aspiration with action. The Harvard University Flourishing Programme seeks to promote human flourishing as the goal of education. Aristotle called this Eudaimonia and suggested it was the goal of every person. Becoming a virtuous practitioner enables those around you to flourish also, and it is widely thought that to be at your best you need others around you to be at theirs. In the world of work, the leading organisations have realised this and are beginning to place character at the top of their agenda for recruitment. Google CEO, Sundar Pichai explains why they do this: “We rarely employ straight A students…We like to choose students who are bright, but broad, with character.”
How do you develop character?
Above, we introduced how character can be developed through ‘caught’, ‘taught’ and sought’ means. The onus needs to be on the student as well, as they need to reflect on their actions to become a more aware individual. Thus, the incorporation of a reflective approach to learning is an important part of a school’s remit. Students need to decide about the kind of person they wish to become. The challenge for all of us is to be able to make wise decisions between the different options and alternatives that we face as we embark upon that journey.
Unfortunately, there are many obstacles in our paths that make progress difficult. The importance of short-term wins, competition against others, and economic growth, have all been prioritised in contemporary society over recent decades and the 2021 UNESCO report on the Future of Education recommends a refocusing on collaboration, solidarity, and creative thinking if we are to meet the challenges of the modern world. Part of this involves learning skills and obtaining knowledge so that we can make informed decisions and act appropriately, but we should not forget the most vital component. We must develop a keen sense of others and the importance of a global view where the world’s challenges are met by teams of people from diverse cultures working together. Promoting collaboration in schools by allowing students to work together is one part of this but so too is developing a moral sense of justice and teaching students that applying virtues such as compassion, citizenship and integrity, have a very real effect on the world. A key question for educators to ask is how we develop this in an intentional way. The Jubilee Centre state that: “Some form of character education will always be taking place in school. The sensible question to ask about a school’s character education strategy is not, therefore, whether such education does occur, but whether it is intentional, planned, organised, and reflective, or assumed, unconscious, reactive, and random”.
An individual, self-paced and reflective approach is required for young people to develop an understanding of themselves before they can understand how the world works and how they may fit in. An intentional focus on character can be developed using caught, taught, and sought means, and it should be planned into the curriculum and co-curriculum so that all students are considered. Ultimately, we are trying to establish the conditions and environment for students to flourish and thereby allow others to flourish. This kind of contagion is the one true hope that experts share when we think about the world of the future. Educating students to be selfless, global leaders starts with character and should remain a lifelong pursuit. UNESCO’s ‘Reimagining our futures together’ report suggests the long-accepted concept of a universal ‘right to Education’ for all needs to be upgraded to a ‘right to quality life-long Education’ for all. For that to happen we need to start thinking about how we can not only support others but also support a move towards a more long-lasting, reflective, and character-building education for all.
George Browning, Director of Sport RGS