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Character Education

Every parent wants their child to develop positive character

traits. One way to supplement your child's character

education is to act as a filter for the movies and

television shows your child watches, and to review the books

your child reads.The following categories are

modeled after "The Book of Virtues for Young People," an

excellent book for children in its own right, written by

William Bennett. When developing a curriculum of character

education for your child, it's helpful to review each

children's book, television show, and movie for both

positive and negative examples of each of the ten virtues

outlined in "The Book of Virtues for Young People." The

stronger the message, the more it will contribute to your

child's character education. Following are some ways

in which the virtues can manifest as character traits in

children's books, movies, and in television

shows:Self-Discipline: A character discusses his

feelings of anger rather than impulsively striking out. Or,

a character gets his chores done before he goes out to play.

Compassion: A character understands the pain or

suffering of a friend, and steps in to help, even when it

means she can't attend the party she was looking forward to.

Responsibility: A character admits it was his

baseball that broke the window, and offers to pay for a

replacement. Or, a character keeps her promise to babysit

her younger sister, even though she'd rather go to the

movies with her friends. Friendship: A character

stands up for her friend in front of her peers, even though

it's not popular. Or, a character befriends the class bully

in an effort to get him to change his ways. Work: A

character approaches her job with a positive attitude, and

does her very best even when her boss is being unfair. Or, a

character makes up a game to get through an unpleasant task,

and takes pride in her work even though it goes unnoticed.

Courage: A character is afraid of the raging waters,

but takes the risk and dives in to save her family. Or, a

character stands up for what he believes in, even though

it's unpopular. Perseverance: A character continues

to strive to make the basketball team, even though he's a

foot shorter than the other players. Or, a family works

together to keep their home, even though the father has lost

his job and the mother is ill. Honesty: A character

admits to himself that he isn't trying his hardest. Or, a

character talks to an adult about a friend in trouble, even

though the friend will get angry at her. Loyalty: A

character sticks with his losing soccer team in the hope of

helping them become better, rather than joining a winning

soccer team. Or, a character stays at her friend's side

during a serious illness or hardship. Faith: A

character reaches out to God to help him in his time of

need. When evaluating character traits and virtues

in kids' books, movies, and television shows, also look at

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negative behavioral influences. Ideally, these influences

will be minimal. Consider, for example: Violence:

Does the character hurt himself, another person, or an

animal through his words or actions, and does he act without

remorse? Profanity: Does the character use foul

language, sexual language, or take God's name in vain?

Nudity: Does the movie, television show, or book

show or describe suggestive styles of dress or partially

clothed or nude characters? Sexual Content: Do the

characters engage in implied or overt sexual behavior, or do

they engage in aberrant sexual behavior? Drugs,

Alcohol, and Tobacco: Do the characters use or abuse legal

or illegal substances? Scary Elements: Are the

scenarios depicted gratuitously frightening?

Negative Behaviors: Does the character show

disrespect to his parents? Or, does he neglect his homework?

Or, does he frighten other children? By evaluating

both the positive character traits and negative behaviors of

movies, television shows, and books, and selecting those

that reinforce the values and virtues that are important to

you, you'll go far in developing your child's character

education.

About the Author

Brent

Sitton is the founder of DiscoveryJourney.com,

with Character based Children's Book Reviews. Reviews contain related, fun and educationalkid activity.