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04/19/00- Updated 08:45 AM ET

Values education wins supporters
By Alcestis “Cooky” Oberg

When the Justice Policy Institute issued a report last week stating that
youth violence was down and schools shouldn’t over-react to the Columbine
massacre, I was stunned. That very day, a public emergency was declared
after a student was arrested for bringing three loaded guns into our junior
high school.

While politicians have pointed to more gun-control laws as the remedy for
school violence, many parents realize that the problem is not just the gun
but the hand that holds it. We have only to open our ears to hear the
Columbine “attitude” stalking the halls of our schools: “If you pick on me,
I’ll get you back.” “School authorities can’t touch me or I’ll sue them.”

In a poll conducted by Who’s Who Among American Teachers two years ago,
teachers observed a toxic trend in their schools over the past 10 years:
81%
reported less respect for authority, 73% noted a decline in ethics and
morals, 65% observed less responsible attitudes, and 60% of kids were more
self centered.

Efforts to address those attitudes started about 10 years ago with a
grass-roots effort called “character education.” But the program really
picked up steam three years ago.

When Mary Aranha (director of Character Education for Maryland) started as
a
school principal in an elementary school in Baltimore in 1988, the school
had high suspension rates, low test scores. She realized the climate of the
school had to be changed by instilling students with basic moral values:
respect for others, self-discipline, honesty, compassion, hard work and
good
citizenship. Her approach involved the whole staff, the parents and
community leaders.

Values permeated curriculum

Uniforms were adopted. Disciplinary matters were handled in a
“business-like” manner. But mostly good behavior was modeled, mentors were
created for the kids, mini achievements were rewarded. An emphasis on basic
ethical values was drawn through the entire curriculum. After a few years,
the kids themselves protected the orderly environment: “I remember,” said
Aranha, “one new kid shoved another in the hall, and a passing student
stopped it, saying ‘There’s no fighting in this school.’”

“About 5% to 10% of schools nationwide already have good character
education
programs, and 100% of schools are concerned about it after Columbine,” said
Philip Fitch Vincent, a leading authority in character education and
director of the Center for Ethics, Civic Virtue and Leadership in
Greensboro, N.C.

Currently, 10 states have legislation mandating some form of character
education in public schools and six more have pending legislation. The U.S.
Education Department sponsors a small effort toward pilot programs in 28
states.

Although national statistics do not yet exist because the character
movement
is so new, individual schools have reported some dramatic one-year results:
- Marion (S.C.) Intermediate School, reported a 50% drop in office
referrals
for negative behavior.
- In its first year, Kennedy Middle School in Eugene, Ore., reported a 66%
drop in disciplinary referrals and a dramatic rise in scores on
standardized
tests.
- At a Greensboro, N.C., school, Vincent recalled: “One year they had
500 ‘restraints,’ where a disruptive or violent kid has to be removed or
restrained. The next year, there were only three.”

Doubts about program persist

Still, there are lingering concerns that it’s not fair to burden public
schools with moral education. And some worry that such programs will allow
parents to shrug off teaching morality themselves. So far, though, teachers
involved with character education programs enjoy the orderly climate it
fosters and the chance to get the job of teaching done. “Having kids abide
by certain standards is not something we’re doing to the child,” said
Vincent, “but something we’re doing with the child.”

Alcestis “Cooky”‘ Oberg is a freelance science and technology writer living
in Houston. She is also a member of USA TODAY’s board of contributors.