I’ve been enjoying our mid-winter break from classes, and attempting to clean through old files in our spare bedroom to make way for the new baby. My husband stumbled across some old family paperwork, including a report card from 1961. It is pretty interesting how “Character Traits” take up almost a third of the report! The middle school report cards of 2013 have some obvious similarities, but aside from teacher comments, there is little or no focus on character traits.
So… I got to thinking about the middle school child and all that they endure during these transitional years. If you work in middle school you know first hand the immense change that occurs from 6th-8th grade. These kiddos go through a huge academic, social and emotional transformation during the tween years. While perusing a handful of old report cards, the questions started flowing! (My poor husband will now be forced to engage in conversation on this topic over dinner.) We know that holding our students to high academic standards is a necessity, but are we holding them to high moral standards? Do we focus so much on the test, the content, the core, that we forget to recognize, teach and assess how our students are growing into respectable young adults? (We all have our own way of bringing character development into our classrooms. Some use literature, prizes/rewards or just verbal praise, but is it enough?) Food for thought: Is the age of academic accountability overshadowing character education?
Happy Teaching…
