Character Education

The education of one's character is arguably the primary goal of education. Along with a person's desire to survive and conquer nature, our earliest ancestors strove to improve their own human nature. Early philosophers struggled both to understand the universe, but also how to draw humans to a higher level of existence. Socrates defined education as our labors to gain both knowledge and virtue, to help us become both smart and good. Historically, character education, then, has been seen as our efforts to make us morally better individuals.

Character education is a term that has no agreed-upon meaning. The word itself comes from a Greek root, charassein, meaning “to engrave” as on a wax [Page 145]tablet or a metal surface. Its core meaning, then, refers to something that is written upon, something upon which marks are made. From this root evolved the conception of character as a distinctive mark or sign, and from there to an individual's pattern of behavior and moral constitution.

The root metaphor of engraving is useful in understanding the mission of character education and how human character changes over a lifetime. Most agree that children come into the world with few, if any, moral patterns or dispositions to behave ethically. Young children are like soft wax tablets, and historically it has been the role and the responsibility of the adult community (i.e., parents, teachers, older siblings, neighbors, and clergy) to engrave the moral habits and understandings on the plastic characters of the young. These engraved “marks,” such as the habit of telling the truth or settling differences peacefully, are seen as essential to happiness or the human flourishing of the individual and the community.

Additionally, the writing surface metaphor is useful in that it points to the truth that forming a moral habit or disposition is easier when the surface is malleable, but as one reaches maturity, and certainly old age, making serious change in one's moral marks or character takes much greater effort. This essential wisdom is captured in many adages (e.g., “As the twig is bent, the tree inclines”).