Respect

for authority, especially in school, was never

questioned 50 years ago. Today, it is considered

a character trait to be taught.

Respect

is joined by words like dependability,

compassion, cooperation, fairness, self-control

and responsibility in curriculums prepared to

instill values in new-century students.

The

Fayette County School System's character

education program has been in place for years at

the elementary and middle school level.

Counselors and teachers have worked to

incorporate desirable traits and life skills into

the framework of their daily lessons, recognizing

students who successfully modeled these

behaviors.

Honors

like "Star Student" for third, fourth

and fifth graders and "life-skill"

awards for middle schoolers have made values a

desired commodity, school officials say.

Character

education is now a requirement in all Georgia

public schools. As of July 1, the state

Department of Education mandates 27 terms

relating to character education that must be

taught.

"Character

education is linked to better discipline,"

Stuart Bennett, assistant superintendent for

curriculum and instruction, said at a recent

Board of Education meeting. "I've never been

a fan of legislation regulating curriculum, but

this is truly a good thing."

It

is up to individual school systems to develop

their own curriculums or purchase

"canned" programs. Currently, Fayette

County uses Second Step, a multilevel curriculum

that teaches young children how to solve problems

in a socially appropriate manner using words

instead of fists. The program also emphasizes

impulse control techniques and helps children

manage their anger.

Teaching

materials include posters, videos and puppets.

Middle school lessons are more abstract and focus

on identifying feelings, ways to handle stressful

emotions and developing good communication

skills.

Karen

Spangler, the school district's coordinator for

CARE (Children At Risk in Education) and a social

worker, said Second Step is a violence prevention

program that promotes conflict resolution.

Students develop skills through role modelling,

reinforcement and practice. The lessons are

introduced in a number of ways, sometimes during

circle time in the lower grades and other times,

interwoven in social studies or health classes,

she explained.

Until

now, there was no prepared format for character

education at the high school level. Starting this

school year, each of the county's four secondary

schools will tailor-make their own, based on a

successful program launched at Troup County's

Comprehensive High School.

Bennett

described it as a "hands-on" character

education program that brought Troup's number of

disciplinary incidents down 70 percent during the

1999-2000 school year. The school's motto is:

"Troup County High School, where character

is first."

Lessons

are brief, usually between 10 and 15 minutes, and

are most often conducted during home room. A

student reward program recognizes students who

exemplify the "life skill" of the

month, a question-and-answer segment gets

students thinking about the particular core value

being discussed, and community volunteer projects

and school improvement projects link students

with adult leaders in a common goal.

Appropriate

quotes from famous inventors, statesmen and

philosophers are integrated into the lessons. The

curriculum calls for a school-wide emphasis on

positive character.

Bennett

also presented a sampling of books that will be

available to Fayette County's teachers,

supporting character education.

These

include "Books that Build Character," a

guide to teaching your child moral values through

stories; "Education for Character," how

our schools can teach respect and responsibility,

The

Troup County curriculum, plus the Second Step

program for grades pre-kindergarten through eight

and the resource books are available for review

County Board of Education during office hours.

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