1. Rebecca Haught
CI 350
Character Education
There are six pillars of 21st century education. These pillars include, group
projects, critical thinking, languages, globalization, math and sciences, and character
education. Our group presented the above Power Point on a view of the main points
about character education.
Character education is extremely important in a 21st century classroom
because many students do not receive good character education at home. Character
education is learning that includes but it is not limited to the following: morals,
civics, manners, relationships, and respect for self and others. It is characterized by
morale based lesson plans, and ethical activities it will encourage students to
become socially responsible. We believed that the most important way it affected
21st century education was through modeling. Students learn a lot from the actions
of their teachers and peers.
A great way to reach students about character education is to show them
using technology. Using blogs, video, social networking, and other media devices
will help apply character education in everyday classrooms. Technology can make
character education seem more relevant through real life examples in the
classroom. A lot of communication happens through technology so students should
be aware of how to behave in an acceptable manner with these tools.
We came up with a few examples of how to combine the two. Students could
practice writing about a moral dilemma on a blog, they could then comment on each
other’s explaining how they would have acted similarly or differently. Students
could also create a video where they act out the ideal way to handle a conflict as well
the un-ideal way; they could share it through YouTube and allow their peers and
teachers to comment on them. Students could hold a Facebook or Twitter poll about
an ethical dilemma, and discuss their answers. One of my favorite ideas was to have
a mock formal dinner in class. Students and teachers can practice table manners,
conversation skills, and general etiquette. Students should also videotape this

2. dinner so they could watch it later and critique themselves and their teachers. Not
only will this allow them to practice manners, but they can practice constructive
criticism as well. Another idea was to do a similar idea with a mock debate.
Another way to show character education, in a funny way, was to show a
video called “caught red sprinkle handed.” This video had a small boy, around two,
with sprinkles on his face. His mother then asks him if he ate all the sprinkles. The
child repeatedly lies even though he is covered in sprinkles.
Character Education is an extremely important pillar in 21st century
education. Social interaction among peers and educators promote a healthy
character education lifestyle. Many students do not pick up character education
from their parents, leaving the classroom as their only location to learn about
morals, civics, manners, relationships, and respect for self and others.