Teaching respect ranks with three R's

Character education at Gulfport Elementary School is seen in signs throughout the school and is incorporated in lessons during the day.

By CHRISTINE GRAEF

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 26, 2000

GULFPORT -- It was 9 Thursday morning at Gulfport Elementary School, and Lee Shenofski's fifth-grade class sat listening with rapt attention at the conclusion of the story of Irene, a girl who had to brave a snowstorm to deliver a dress.

"What obstacles did she have to overcome?" asked Lillie McPherson, guidance counselor at the school. "How did she show courage?"

The lesson is designed to promote character education, a subject mandated by the state for educators to incorporate into their curriculum. As part of the lessons, McPherson teaches a class once every two weeks to the school's 400 students. This month's lesson was in courage. After discussing the story, the six groups of students were given an issue to solve.

"How would you practice courage if you are late catching the school bus home and the only seat is next to someone you don't get along with?"

"How would you practice courage if the teacher asks you to read something you wrote on morning announcements?"

"How would you react if friends wanted you to try something you knew was wrong?"

"If you broke your friend's favorite toy but no one saw you do it?"

"If you were a new student and couldn't find your classroom?"

"If you saw a classmate pick up a necklace that had fallen off a woman in a store?"

After students talked with each other for a few minutes, they role-played the solution, bringing courage into each situation.

"What you showed me with these role plays is that in fifth grade you can show courage. You don't have to be in a snowstorm to need courage," McPherson said.

School principal Sharon Jackson said the education is a schoolwide effort. "Students deserve respect. It's needed if they are to have an environment they can learn in," Jackson said. The idea is not new to educators.

In the 1950s, efforts to teach good character dwindled because of the complexity of moral education. By the 1980s, concern over the climate in many schools brought the issue up again.

By increasing students' responsibility for their own behavior and reducing distress and disruption, officials hope to create better environments for learning in schools.

The mandate requires schools to evaluate what positive or negative moral experiences they provide, what learning experiences require team cooperation and what opportunities students have to interact with people from different backgrounds. There is no one method used in character education.

Some schools promote specific traits. Others develop their own material, and some provide it through civics and social studies courses that emphasize citizenry.

Gulfport Elementary School puts character reminders everywhere. The character trait of the month is displayed in classrooms and on the cafeteria bulletin boards. Kindness Avenue, Honesty Boulevard, Character Cafe and Fairness Field mark the passages between classrooms. T-shirts asserting that Gulfport Elementary is committed to character were acquired with money solicited from local businesses. There are plans to use Valentine cards to acknowledge the courage of veterans.

Lessons are also incorporated into "teachable moments" throughout the day. "Are you being disrespectful?" "Is this fair?" are questions addressed to behaviors.

In the cafeteria, the Yummy in the Tummy Behavior Contest rewards students with a gum ball for positive behavior. A student who collects 20 is eligible for an ice cream.

Reinforcement is also aimed at the intrinsic motivation of students to make decisions, cooperate and solve problems.

"Teaching now is being a facilitator and letting students be creative in their thinking rather than lecturing them," said Jackson, the principal.

The U.S. Department of Education is funding pilot character education projects in 12 states. Evaluations of their effectiveness have not been done, but Angela Lodge, school social worker, said she has seen vast improvements in behavior since the program began.

Success increases when the lessons are reinforced at home, Jackson said. Last year, the school began a six-week parent involvement group to show parents how they can support the school's objectives. Jackson said efforts to make the school more parent-friendly will increase with new programs.

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