1. The Character Education Initiative A Project of the Universal Peace Federation

2. Introduction to the UPF Character Education Initiative

3. What Is Character Education?

4. Character Education = Conscious Effort to Instill Virtues “Character education is the deliberate effort to help people understand, care about, and act upon core ethical values.” Dr. Thomas Lickona, author, Educating for Character

5. Educating the “Head, Heart, Hand” Drs. Kevin Ryan and Thomas Lickona To know the good To care about the good To do the good

6. Why Do We Need Character Education?

7. Explosion of Moral Problems in Society Premarital SexDivorce

8. Alienation from Traditional Values

9. Leads to Alienation of Youth from Society

10. Youth Don’t Know Who They Are or Where They Are Going

11. Rising Youth Suicide Rates

12. Rising Teenage Pregnancy Rates

13. Rising Youth Violence and Crime

14. Drug Abuse

15. Alcohol Abuse

16. Unwholesome Media and Entertainment Influences

17. Character Education Has Always Been Part of Education Since Plato, educators have accepted moral instruction of the young as part of their educational mission Many universities, including Harvard,were founded to train clergy

18. Character Education Declined in the Twentieth Century, in Part Due to Science Logical positivism— everything should be empirically provable Theory of relativity applied to the moral realm Personalism—morals are everyone’s to choose

19. Moral Relativism: Whose Values to Teach? “Virtues” Not “Values” Values are subjective What people value may vary from culture to culture Values change Virtues are universal Virtues are admired everywhere Virtues do not change

20. Yet Virtues May be Used for Good or Bad Purposes A strong-willed dictator A diligent terrorist A conscientious computer hacker A generous thief

21. Therefore, UPF Teaches Virtues within the Framework of Three Basic Life Goals

22. The Three Life Goals = A Purposeful Life To attain mature character To develop loving relationships with family and others To make a positive contribution to society

23. Character Develops through Four Spheres of Love in the Family A child’s love for parents A sibling’s love for brothers and sisters A spouse’s love for husband or wife A parent’s love for a child

24. Altruism = the Virtue of Virtues To live and work for the benefit of others Altruism encompasses all the other virtues

25. The Family is the First School of Love and Relationships The Oliners’ study of rescuers during the Holocaust showed that altruistic people come from loving families

26. The UPF Character Education Initiative Emphasizes Virtues and ethical principles common to all cultures The family is the first school of love Three Basic Life Goals Altruism is the organizing core virtue Home, school, community

27. UPF’s Discovering the Real Me Character Education Curriculum Utilizes the power of story Age-appropriate books, covering ages 5-18 For use in homes, schools, community venues

28. Discovering the Real Me, Books 1-4 Elementary level: Aesop’s fables and classic fairy tales

29. Discovering the Real Me, Books 5-8 Adolescent level: Stories of realistic situations, and moral dilemmas

30. Discovering the Real Me, Books 9-12 High school level: Character-based sexuality education, relationship, communication, and leadership skills

31. Character Education—Important and Necessary Part of Education Tomorrow’s Test: How did I show altruism this past week?

32. Food Drive = A+

33. Advanced Technology Means We Must Use Our Powers for Good, Not Ill

34. “The greater our material power, the greater our need for spiritual insight and virtue.” Arnold Toynbee, British historian, Civilization on Trial

35. Theodore Roosevelt, 26 th President of the U.S., Knew the Value of Character Education “To educate a man in mind and not morals is to educate a menace to society.”