welcome to gcu's Canon Center for character education's presentation what is character education they will introduce what character education is what it embodies and why we need it before we dive into what character education is we must consider what character is character can be defined in various forms depending on personal context some examples include understanding caring about and acting upon core ethical values the set of characteristics that motivate and enable one to function as a moral agent do One's best work effectively collaborate in the common space to promote the common good and effectively inquire about and pursue knowledge and Truth a set of personal virtues that produce specific moral emotions inform motivation and guide conduct traits and morals of ethical qualities distinctive to an individual in all definitions and ideas we know character is made up of Virtues in the jccv framework shown here which is a characterized into four domains intellectual moral Civic and performance all domains work together to build one's character and a guided by the amount of virtue practical wisdom this helps individual balance virtues and discern ethically right choices and situations that lead to flourishing or living to one's potential each of these virtues and domains are significant when choosing character and character education every organization must determine their mission and vision pertaining to character education including which virtues they value and how they'll Define them with stakeholder input character is caught by others every day we naturally model for others what our virtues are and what they mean family members students friends and co-workers all catch character from those around them they see it in their actions choices and the words of others at home at work and in the community it is in these moments that we teach character unintentionally so Educators and leaders should be conscious of how the immortal character virtues and decision making in their interactions with students Educators and leaders also teach character intentionally for example one might talk with a student about how to do the right thing this can be taught through literature experiences dilemmas debates and explicit teaching of character and virtues Educators and leaders all strive for themselves the students and peers to seek desire and pursue character that is the goal of a character education so how do we define character education character education is a comprehensive school-based approach that includes an intentional focus on promoting character virtue formation and ethical decision making through school curriculum ethos activities and engagement with family and community Educators lead teach serve and learn with character to promote individual and Collective flourishing character education aims to develop and strengthen virtues and moral decision making because practical wisdom itself and others cultivates a society where all can live well in the world worth living in why is this important and why what you want to focus on this shift in Youth Development character education has a significant ripple effect that starts with individual learning character education allows individuals to enhance their own virtual literacy morality and capacity to serve and consider others in the society including increased respect for interculturalism and inclusion this leads to more character card as individuals model or positive character when everyone contributes to a school ethos based on character it can increase school-wide and Community engagement can lower the number of disciplinary actions and possibly enhance the relationships within the school culture a school ethos surrounded by character formation leads to classroom connections wherein students learn about and enhance their character virtue literacy practical wisdom and ethical decision making as character continues to be taught in resources curriculum and activities its impact ripples of the community Through the development of virtuous individuals that use practical wisdom in the pursuit of a flourishing society that could even contribute to social change as Educators and leaders enhance their own character and decision making they're more than teach that to students and eventually our society is full of transformative leaders and Global contributors that exhibit moral character for others to catch leading to a thriving Society for all why do we need this in our schools there's no off switch students are always watching and learning let us choose to be intentional about how our schools teach character it's our responsibility to teach the whole child we must teach them academics life skills and how to be good human beings we must help students to be their best selves and live their best lives for their own sake and for the sake of others teaching good character is good education Educators can help virtuous individuals and equip them with the knowledge experience and capacity to make morally right decisions throughout their lives Educators can enable students to contribute to a thriving society and their own human flourishing through character education it is possible to model and teach virtues and morality such that it allows all diverse individuals to serve others create social change and cultivate flourishing for all developing good characters is not just for habits in school but for Life development if kids want to become Global contributors they'll need to exhibit character in their life and profession character education has a significant impact on a range of character outcomes in children such as respect confidence curiosity allyship and responsibility it has been shown to increase school-wide and community-wide engagement and lower the number of disciplinary actions in schools most notably character education can improve academic performance increasing High School graduation and College acceptance rates you know character education is nurturing the flourishing of human goodness you may feel like this is just another thing to add to your ready full plate but character is not an extra character is the plate character education is not a project to work on or something we do in isolation it guides us in our everyday lives and is what we demonstrate in our beliefs behaviors and being it's about knowing feeling and doing what's ethically important the big picture to remember is that character education is about enhancing virtues and moral decision making to lead to human flourishing you already have character so be intentional about how you model it and teach it so that others can catch it learn it and then import their character on others too [Music] we'll see you in the next training [Music]