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Character Education Children need to develop character values to guide their actions throughout their lives It is not easy since they are bombarded with so many examples of how not to act these days. Children today need to learn about character values. They spend a great many hours playing video games, watching movies and TV, exposed to commercials and sit-coms that exhibit unacceptable behaviors on the parts of adults and children. We need to help children understand that what they see is not necessarily what is good. While we teach values in church, we find it more difficult in school and find them barely visible in society. We cannot expect our children to be able to identify character values if they are not continously provided with them.  Character Education is becoming popular in schools today. Finding all of the resources when there are so many programs and traits to choose from, is an overwhelming, time-consuming task. This pathfinder provides a wide range of print and web resources for educators to use when determining what traits or programs to use. Ten of the most popular character traits are addressed on the following pages. Each character trait profile includes several dictionary definitions, examples of the trait and people who demonstrate the trait, books that help teach the trait and on-line resources that can provide more information for educators to use to further develop their plans.  Sunday school programs also try to reinforce character values, separate pages are also included addressing values using Biblical people and events and activities to reinforce the value. Additional pages identify online resources that can assist teachers in choosing from a large selection of books which address a variety of traits, and the last page which provides programs that can be purchased and other resources to teach character education.  There are many different words used to describe peoples character traits. Some are desired traits, some not so desirable. In school we strive to develop those character traits that will take us through life with the greatest ease. The traits that are recognized most include Responsibility, Perseverance, Caring, Self-discipline, Citizenship, Honesty, Courage, Fairness, Respect, Integrity, and Patriotism. While some of these are found under different names, these are the most often taught. There are many character education programs and resources available today. Some programs focus on six specific traits such as Character Counts Six Pillars and others provide resources for eleven or twelve traits. This comprehensive collection of information will provide a variety of programs and resources educators and parents can use to identify the traits they wish to teach their children. There are many books and educational programs available that focus on these traits and help children relate to and understand them. 

[] The Character Education Partnership site has a variety of resources teachers can look at and purchase to instruct students in character education. Links connect to several valuable sites such as grants and funding sources, articles about cyber bullying and character values, and a connection to the National forum on character Education. The resources tab has numerous links to lesson suggestions that teach various character traits at elementary, middle and high school levels. This is a valuable site to view when looking for character education resources.

[]This site is geared towards middle and high school students. A link to articles addresses topics such as How to teaching articles, character formation, character traits, motivation, school wide practices, parents and more. The site includes lesson plans, stories and discussion questions, activities and skits. A member ship is required to benefit from their over 1,800 resources for a very low fee. Individuals can become a member for only $14.75 a year and schools can be a member for $99.00 a year. Low 4 year rates are included also. Sample lessons are available. Resource List Learn More About Character Education

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