Building moral character

I resonate with William Damon's central argument in his article "The Bridge to Character." Schools should never be afraid to teach right from wrong and what it means to be an ethical human being. Perhaps schools worry that they are stepping on parents' toes or that they don't have time to teach this kind of subject, but it's actually something that can be incorporated into many classes. Like Damon's example of an 8th grade civics class, ethical questions from American history and in politics today help students relate more closely to subject material and allow them to apply these questions to their own lives.

My high school has five core values: Charity, Courage, Character, Conscience and Community. Despite this, I never had a class or anything that dealt with what the 5 Cs are all about. I think it means something that I remember what the 5 Cs are--when I graduated I also received a key chain with the 5 Cs logo--but beyond that, I never connected to the 5 Cs or applied them in a practical or academic sense during my high school experience. Students certainly violated school rules and they received "demerits" or study hall or suspensions. But the 5 Cs were not utilized as a teaching tool or discussed in a "what do these values mean to me" way.

At my middle school I remember we had an honor code. On every test or paper I turned in, I had to write on the back of it, "On my honor this is my own work" and then sign it. Though this statement is simple, it had a major impact on the way I thought about my work. I took pride in what I produced and never felt a desire to cheat. Also, signing your name to something is significant. I never wanted to lie if my name was attached to it.

Overall though my moral education really has come from my parents, synagogue and Jewish community programs. Jewish and secular service learning programs have such an opportunity to teach these lessons that schools often miss. By placing students in service opportunities outside of their comfort zone and with people they don't normally interact with, they can learn compassion, civic duty, respect for the dignity of all human life and a host of other values for leading an ethical life. Also, Jewish service learning programs teach what Judaism specifically has to say about how to lead an ethical life. JSL programs can help shape a student's identity and tie a student's identity directly to his/her behavior. IE "I plant trees because this is a Jewish thing to do." And even better, the student can remember a text or a value like Ba'al taschit that goes along with the behavior to explain it. The possibilities are vast.

When schools, as Damon writes, shy away from elevating students' moral character and instead stoop to their level, they not only miss an opportunity; they don't fulfill their mission. Schools should teach students these lessons through service learning programs. This would be the most impactful way--get students out of the classroom for service but bring the reflection and ethical learning pieces back to the classroom.

Recently I learned the difference between the Hebrew verbs "l'chanech" (to educate) and "l'lamed" (to teach). L'chanech is not book learning--it is life learning. It means teaching students about behavior and ethics. L'lamed is more about academic studies.

It takes a school, family and community to provide a student with a "chinuch." All parties must contribute to this.