As Sarah skipped happily to the Pearson School cafeteria, she tripped and fell to the ground. Johnny and David, following close behind, laughed, jumped over the sobbing little girl and continued on their way. This incident troubled me deeply and I thought, "What can I do to help our children have a sense of conscience?" 

Three years ago my colleague Janie Hamilton and I were becoming increasingly concerned about the behavior of our students. We teach at a multilingual elementary school with other veteran teachers who work together as a cohesive family, dedicated to educating students from a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Each year our students surpassed the state-mandated academic standards but we were beginning to question whether we were fostering good people as well as strong students. It seemed that the children were becoming less kind, showing less compassion to others. 

Our school district, an advocate and model in the character education process, established a Character Committee, but we questioned whether any lesson we taught or any book we read would have significant positive impact in altering the behavior and character of our students. We realized that as teachers, administrators, and parents scramble to find ways to curb violence and promote ethics in our schools, the workplace, and society, we need to address the real questions: Where does the formation of character and values begin? Who is responsible for the positive formation of these traits?

We believe that character development begins at home in the conversations that children have with their parents. Parents are the primary moral educators of their children. A recent report by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory featured in Education Week (12/11/03) supports parent responsibility: "When schools, families and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer and like school more." (Henderson & Mapp, 2002) 

Janie and I realized that discipline and strong academics were not enough. We had to address our students' character development and we knew that the most effective way was through working with their parents. We found that our students' parents were feeling the same need; many of them were asking us for help. 

After reflecting on our own childhood and our experiences as parents, Janie and I decided to try a new approach. We designed a series of homework projects that encourage parents to talk with their children and guide them, using their personal values and ethics as a compass.
 

The Character Connection Program

Realizing that the parent is the primary influence in a child's life, we were determined to work as partners with parents in the education process. Viewing character development as an essential part of this process, we encouraged conversations at home by creating a platform for values discussion. Because many of our students come from non-English speaking homes, we have translated our program into Spanish.

Setting high objectives for ourselves, we decided to: 

• Encourage families to spend quality time with their children discussing moral and ethical issues, 
• Include students, parents, and teachers in service learning through community involvement, 
• Provide weekly character education homework for discussion, allowing families to develop and examine their own values, and work with the school and community to build a strong union, and to 
• Encourage parent involvement in the education of their children while positively influencing academic achievement. 

Homework in our classes now serves as both academic review and a platform for moral and ethical discussions. With the help of colleagues and parent volunteers, a character education assignment is attached to the weekly homework, asking the parents to talk to their children about an important issue.  We ask parents to record their discussions and return the assignment to school. 
 

Discussion Topics

Through the Character Connection Homework Program, our families discuss topics such as: 

These discussion items are aligned with the character traits of 
 

Is It Worth It?

To our surprise, because of our constant contact with our parents in the homework program, our students' academic achievement has increased and their parents are more involved in their childrens' education.  Parents also volunteer more to help in class and we develop a bond with each of the families of our sixty-six students.  This does not magically happen.  It takes perseveranceÑmaking phone calls and engaging in parent conferences, instilling the need in parents for their involvement. 

One of the most touching projects is a Valentine that parents design as a surprise for their children on Valentine's Day.  Excited parents bring these Valentines to school, knowing they are giving their children precious memories.  Each Valentine touches our hearts as we read the priceless treasure to each child in front of the class.  The school year concludes with a Memorial Day Service, Mother's Day Tea, Donuts for Dad Play Day, Firemen and Policemen Read-in and graduation.  Each special occasion brings parents, caregivers, relatives and friends of the community to our classrooms.
 

Our Program Expands

Our class involvement has expanded to the school and the community through service learning. With the help of our now-involved parents, we have initiated a monthly manners luncheon with candles, music, and tablecloths for all Pearson students. Our small school of 400 students collected over 1,500 cans of food for the poor and homeless. Throughout the year our students prepared holiday programs and made decorations for a convalescent hospital. The children and parents also purchased and sent books to the Children's Crisis Center and recorded holiday songs for the blind. Three classrooms provide animals through Heifer Project International.

In the new year, the children distributed student-made posters on virtues to local businesses and government agencies.  Many businesses and city, state, and national officials acknowledged our posters and praised our efforts. President Bush noted our efforts with a picture and letter. In February, our students created and delivered Valentines to the residents of convalescent hospitals. 

Children in our program aspire to know the good, desire the good, and do the good as they wear their school T-shirts proclaiming them "Students of Character at Pearson School." Parents and children also receive awards for being terrific parents and students of character at our monthly award ceremony. "Mr. Character Ed", our assistant superintendent, visits classrooms and assemblies to speak about character.

It seems that our enthusiasm has become infectious as more teachers and parents join the ranks of character educators at our school and in our district.
 

Does the Character Connection Work?

To answer this question we polled our parents in a pre- and post-assessment after the first year. We found that: 

• 92% of the parents felt this program was useful to their family. 
• 77% of the families surveyed felt they spent more time discussing values with their children as a result of the Character Connection. 
• 70% of the families had changed their habits regarding family dinner, TV and reading as a result of these discussions. 
• 87% of the families felt that the Character Connection homework provided a time for them to discuss values with their child. 
• 13% of the families who answered "no" to survey questions said they already spend time discussing values with their child. 

Community Service

Although our focus began with specific parent activities aimed at academic growth and values discussion in the home, our school has now become a laboratory where students can test themselves and their beliefs, explore their talents and develop the many facets of service learning. Citizenship projects, which include a broad scope of civic activities, provide essential opportunities for students and their families to participate in community service. 

School and civic involvement includes:

• Community mentors discussing their occupations
• Veterans sharing their military experiences and careers
• Heifer Project International sponsorship
• Visits to entertain senior citizens in convalescent homes
• Military pen pals
• Can food donations for Community Sharing
• Clothes drive for women's shelter
• Reading mentors (firemen, policemen, community businesses, trade clubs, school district personnel)
• Blue Star Family Support
• Donations of books for the Children's Crisis Center
• Monetary donations and letters to children in Afghanistan
• Manners Luncheons
• Multi-cultural Spring Picnic
• Mother's Day Tea
• Donuts for Dads Play Day
• Peace Garden/ Peace Posters
• Random Acts Of Kindness Activities
• Appreciation of differences and awareness of people with special needs

The Character Connection Homework Program we created for parent participation continues to surpass our expectations.  We believe that if we can promote values discussion in the homes of our students, parents will model and teach these values to their children. It is obvious that a parent involvement program is a necessary component in the development of a child's character and literacy.  In our hearts we believe that raising good children is as important as raising smart children.  We believe that if we can encourage our parents to share their values and provide academic support, they can pass on valuable lessons that will serve their children for a lifetime.
 

Program Guide 

Our book  Character Connection for Parent, Child, and School offers activities organized by the school year calendar with instructions for parents in both English and Spanish. Follow the link for an order form.