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Illinois School Board Journal
July August 1999

Character counts

by Gary M. Smit

When I was in elementary school, the day report cards came home was not necessarily a personal highlight for me. It's not that my academic grades were that bad. Usually, I could achieve grades acceptable to my parents and myself.

The area of the report card that made me worry the most was the grade my teachers would give me for citizenship. In my elementary school, the teachers would begin each grading period with the assumption that every student had an A in citizenship. A system was in place to deduct points from the grade of students who misbehaved. Misconduct slips were turned in to the principal by teachers and if the number of slips exceeded the established standard, the citizenship grade was reduced by one letter grade. Students had to have either an A or a B in citizenship to qualify for the school's honor roll.

My parents believed the citizenship grade was more important than the assessment made by the teachers of my academic work. They were not very tolerant if I lost an opportunity to achieve honor roll status because I was disruptive or disrespectful to my teachers or other students.

That's not to say I never acted up in class or said something I should not have let slip from my mouth. I was far from being a model student. But, I understood the potential consequences of my actions. If I made a wrong choice in terms of classroom behavior, I understood that there was a strong possibility I would have to pay the price, both at school and at home. Neither my principal nor my parents believed in the appeal process. Somehow we realized we were the ones responsible for our actions and those actions had something to do with our peers and our families. Character not only translated into a report card grade but became a critical aspect of how I was taught to conduct myself in the classroom, our neighborhood, or around other adults and extended family members.

Public education came about because people like Horace Mann understood that a democracy depended on a public making informed decisions dedicated to the common good. In our society today, we must come to realize that we are all in this together whether we like it or not. As Martin Luther King once said, "What affects one of us affects all of us." Schools cannot just adopt rules and allow community organizations to remain isolated from what happens. Without support from parents and other community members, the enforcement of appropriate student behavior is weakened.

Our schools have always been places where character is emphasized. We strongly support families of our students who consistently promote good character in the home. But often, as board members and administrators, we are hesitant to actively promote good character or espouse specific values. We fear we may open ourselves to criticism if a stand is taken in the name of good character.

In Lombard Elementary District 44 and Glenbard East High School, the CHARACTER COUNTS! initiative of the Josephson Institute of Ethics has taken hold. This approach to character education provides us the opportunity to join with others in our community to build a partnership for a better tomorrow. For our school district and for the greater Lombard community, character education is a commitment. Together, we publicly acknowledge our desire to promulgate core ethical values to all members of our school community.

The CHARACTER COUNTS! initiative is dedicated to fortifying the character of our youth with six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. We believe children learn best when they learn these pillars in the home, schools and in our community. During the past two summers, 75 individuals representing education, village government, police department, businesses, parents, the faith community and youth service organizations have been involved in CHARACTER COUNTS! training. As a result, our community has been able to build consensus that, no matter how diverse our opinions, personalities and backgrounds, there are values that clearly define us at our best. It follows that such values are worthy of promotion where they are evident and of repair where they have faltered. This is what CHARACTER COUNTS! seeks to do: build awareness of these consensus values and teach them vigorously to the young in support of the paramount role of parents.

It's simple. If we — parents, educators, community members, houses of faith — don't teach and model the six pillars of character, how else are children going to learn it? Without having a common vocabulary we have very little chance of solving the problems we see, not only in our schools but throughout our community. Whenever we ask parents what they would like to see from our schools, a safe and orderly environment in which students can learn always ranks near the top of the lists. Parents make the clear connection that unless we have schools that are safe and orderly, very little else that we try to accomplish will lead to success.

Beyond our schools, we have seen interest expand throughout Lombard. A CHARACTER COUNTS! leadership coalition has been established. The council works to coordinate activities in our schools and throughout the community. A common calendar informs others about the initiative by using a different value for a specified period during the year. In October, a week of activities was planned to promote good character. The local newspaper publishes weekly testimonials of local educators, students and prominent community leaders about how good character has an influence on their life. The pillars of character are prominently displayed on every village police car.

Most important, we use a common vocabulary heard by students in our homes, by coaches in park programs, and even adults who have limited contact with schools. Our work over the past two years leads us to believe our community will be a great place to live, work and learn when the pillars are respected and highly recognizable to businesses, organizations, parents and community members. Wouldn't it be a great experience if we all understood what is meant by the six pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS!? And if the "grade" we gave was an honest reflection of what we do, not only in schools but our homes, other public services and businesses?

I'm convinced that CHARACTER COUNTS! will make a difference in the lives of children and in our community. We have everything to gain and very little to lose. I guess that was similar to the approach I took back in elementary school — something that even today keeps me focused on the appropriateness of my actions.

Gary M. Smit is superintendent of Lombard Elementary District 44.