Helping Our Students Become Smart and Good

1. Tom Lickona Center for the 4th & 5th Rs State University of New York at Cortland WORLD CONGRESS IN EDUCATION Valencia, Spain April 17-19, 2008 Helping Our Students Become SmartandGood

2. Smart & Good Schools InitiativeIntegrating Excellence & Ethics for Success in School, Work, and Beyond www.cortland.edu/character The Smart & Good Schools Initiative is co-directed by Drs. Thomas Lickona, Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, and Matthew Davidson, Institute for Excellence and Ethics. To inquire about participating in the Smart & Good Schools Initiative, email character@cortland.edu.

3. Through history, and across cultures, education has had two great goals:help students become smarthelp students become good.They need character for both.

4. THE MEASURED EFFECTIVENESS OF CHARACTER EDUCATIONAt all grade levels, students who have experienced quality character education outperform comparison groups not only on measures of social behaviorbut also on measures of academic performance.—Journal of Research in Character Education (2003)

5. The vision of a Smart & Good School is based on the 2005 studySmart & Good High SchoolsTom Lickona & Matt Davidson100 Promising Practices for Integrating Excellence & Ethicswww.cortland.edu/character

6. Smart & Good Research Methodologies • A comprehensive literature review • Site visits (focus groups & observations) at 24 award-winning high schools • Guidance from: • Experts Panel • Student Leaders Panel

7. The concepts and findings that emerged from the Smart & Good study are now being used by schools K-12.

8. 2 Foundational Questions • What is character? • What is character education?

9. Character has two major parts: performance character and moral character.

10. Moral/Ethical Character • Respect • Responsibility to others • Love (Compassion) • Humility • Integrity • Justice • Moral courage • Performance Character • Commitment to continuous improvement • Goal setting • Work ethic • Determination • Self-confidence • Initiative • Creativity

11. Performance Character:Doing Our Best Work

12. You must discover what you are made for, and you must work indefatigably to achieve excellence in your field of endeavor. If you are called to be a street-sweeper, you should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music. —Martin Luther King, Jr.

13. The goal in life is to make the effort to do the best you are capable of doing—in marriage, at your job, in your community, for your country. Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your abilities. The effort is what counts in everything. —John Wooden, UCLA Basketball Coach

14. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? • Performance is the outcome (the grade, the honor or award, the achievement). • Performance characterconsists of those qualities needed to pursue ourpersonal best—whether the outcome is realized or not.

15. We asked high school students: ”What persons or experiences in high school have most influenced the development of your performancecharacter?”

16. The importance of being challenged: “The person who has most profoundly affected my performance character is my basketball coach. He had me play power forward, even though I am only 5’4”. When I became frustrated, he never let me give up. I never before had to do anything so far out of my comfort zone.” —A High School Girl

17. Moral Character:Doing the Right Thing • Moral character consists of the virtues needed for ethical behavior, positive relationships, and responsible citizenship. • Moral character honors the interests of others, so that we do not violate moral values as we pursue our performance goals.

18. We asked high school students: ”What persons or experiences in high school have most influenced the development of your moral character?”

19. “We are taught from the start that plagiarism and all forms of cheating are wrong, and that any kind of cruelty toward other students is not to be tolerated. We often have assemblies that discuss how to promote peace and justice in society. Graduation requirements include 100 hours of community service, but our school encourages us to do more.” —A High School Girl

20. “There are two roads in life: a high road and a low road. The high road is harder, but it takes you somewhere worth going. The low road is easy, but it’s circular—you eventually find yourself back where you started. “Your life won’t get better—and you won’t get better—on the low road.”—High School Science Teacher

21. A person of character embodies both performance character and moral character.

22. Without moral character, performance character easily runs amuck.You could become a courageous terrorist who blows up innocent people, an ingenious CEO who cooks the books, or a brilliant valedictorian who is only out for herself.

23. Without performance character, moral character is ineffective.You could be a person who has good intentions but can’t carry them out effectively.Performance character enables us to act on our moral values.

24. Only by developing performance character will schools: • Promote academic achievement for all students • foster an ethic of excellence, not just higher test scores • develop scientific and entrepreneurial talent • produce a competitive, creative workforce.

25. Only by developing moral character will schools: • create safe learning environments • prevent peer cruelty • decrease discipline problems • reduce cheating • foster social & emotional skills • develop ethical thinkers • produce public-spirited citizens.

26. Performance character and moral character are defined in terms of 8 Strengths of Character, assets needed for a flourishing life.

27. THE WHOLE PERSON What are the Strengths of Character that make up the “whole person”?

28. Lifelong learner and critical thinker • Diligent and capable performer • Socially and emotionally skilled person • Ethical thinker • Respectful and responsible moral agent • Self-disciplined person who pursues a healthy lifestyle • Contributing community member and democratic citizen • Spiritual person engaged in crafting a life of noble purpose.

30. Where do the 8 Strengths of Character come from? • Classical philosophy about living a meaningful and fulfilling life • Cross-cultural wisdom • Positive psychology’s focus on the assets needed for a flourishing life • Our own grounded theory research.

31. 1. Lifelong learner and critical thinker • Approaches learning as a lifelong process • Shows skills of critical analysis • Takes seriously the perspectives of others • Seeks credible evidence • Integrates knowledge • Generates alternative solutions • Demonstrates intellectual humility (e.g., willingness to admit error).

32. A Core Works Curriculum Core Works in literature, history, and the arts are selected by one independent school’s faculty using four criteria: • Timelessness • Centrality(involves important themes) • Influence • Originality (offers new vision)

33. “Our purpose is to teach the best that has been thought and said in the world.”

34. Intellectual Character:What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Get It (2002)—Ron Ritchhart

35. Media Literacy: Deconstructing Pornography • How does pornography affect our respect for the dignity of other people? • Who are pornography’s victims? • How does it affect our self-respect? • What are some of the possible long-term consequences of viewing pornography on our sexual attitudes and behavior? • How might pornography affect a marriage?

36. 2. Diligent and capable performer • Strives for excellence; gives best effort • Demonstrates initiative • Knows standards of quality and creates high-quality products; takes pride in work • Sets personal goals and assesses progress • Perseveres despite difficulty.

37. 4 KEYS • A community that supports and challenges • Self-study (self-assessment and goal-setting) • Other-study (learning from positive and negative examples) • Public performance/presentation

38. An Ethic of Excellence: Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students —Ron Berger Berger’s work illustrates the use of the 4 KEYS.

39. Practices That Use the 4 KEYS • Work that inspires. (Community That Supports & Challenges) • Models of excellence. (Other-Study) • A culture of critique. (Community That Supports & Challenges) • Multiple revisions. (Self-Study) • Opportunities to present/display one’s work. (Public Performance)

40. The Culture of Critique Students regularly present their work to peers and the teacher for feedback, in order to heighten their responsibility for: • doing their best work • bringing out the best in each other.

41. Rules for the CULTURE OF CRITIQUE • Be kind. • Be specific. • Be helpful.

42. Steps in the Culture of Critique • Presenter: “I would especially like suggestions on . . .” • Positive feedback from the group and teacher. • Constructive critique, often put as questions: “Would you consider . . . ?” “Have you thought of . . . ?”

43. Diligent and Capable Performer • Involve students in meaningful learning experiences that challenge them to meet real-world standards.

44. A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE RESEARCH CLASS “These kids are doing original research, not cookbook science. We’re teaching problem-posing, problem-solving, cause-and-effect thinking, and teamwork.” —Science Teacher

45. 3. Socially and emotionally skilled person • Possesses a healthy self-confidence and positive attitude • Demonstrates basic courtesy • Develops positive relationships • Communicates effectively • Works well with others • Resolves conflicts fairly • Has emotional intelligence, including the ability to understand and manage one’s feelings.

46. Promising Practice: • Develop and regularly renew a positive relationship with every student.

47. Promising Practice: Foster Positive Peer Relations.

48. THE DAILY FIVE • Who has good news? • Who would like to affirm/compliment someone else? • What is something in the past 24 hours that you are thankful for? • Laughter (rotate bringing in a joke) • Change seats; get to know your new neighbor (2-minute interview). • —Hal Urban

49. RESPECT SCALE • At the end of the day, each student gives himself a rating of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (high) on the Respect Scale. • We have a class conversation: “Why did you give yourself that rating?” We do not pass judgment. • I ask, “How are you going to try to get better tomorrow? What strategies will you use?” Other students may suggest strategies. —Usha Balamore

50. 4. Ethical thinker • Possesses moral discernment • Has a well-formed conscience—including a feeling of obligation to do the right thing. • Has a strong moral identity; moral character is central to “who I am.” • Has the moral skills to translate moral discernment, conscience, and identity into effective moral behavior.