the character education initiative

The Character Education Initiative

A Project of theUniversal Peace Federation

UNESCO: UNESCO: Learning the Way of Learning the Way of PeacePeace

“Peace education…is basically a character building intervention.”

Principles of Peacebuilding• We are one human family created by an

Ultimate Reality.• The highest qualities of the human being are

spiritual and moral.• The family is the school of love and peace.• Altruism—living for the sake of others—

is the central virtue.• Peace comes through cooperation.

Character Education = Instilling Virtues that Lead to Peace

“Character education is the deliberate effort to help people understand, care about, and act upon core ethical values.”

Dr. Thomas Lickona Educating for Character

Educating the “Head, Heart, Hand”Drs. Kevin Ryan and Thomas Lickona

• To know the good

• To care about the good

• To do the good

There Is an Explosion of Moral Problems in Society

Premarital SexDivorce

Alienation from Traditional Values

Leads to Alienation of Youth from Society

Rising Youth Suicide Rates Rising Teenage Pregnancy Rates

Rising Youth Violence and Crime

Drug Abuse

Alcohol Abuse

Unwholesome Media and Entertainment Influences

Character Education—A TraditionalPart of Education

• Since Plato, educators have accepted moral instruction of the young as part of their educational mission

• Many universities, including Harvard,were founded to train clergy

Character Education Declined in the Twentieth Century, in Part Due to Science

• Everything should be empirically provable;

• Theory of relativity applied to the moral realm.

• Morals are relative.

Moral Relativism: Whose Values to Teach?

“Virtues” not “Values”

• Values are subjective.

• What people value may vary from culture to culture.

• Values change.

• Virtues are universal.

• Virtues are admired everywhere.

• Virtues do not change.

Yet Even Virtues May be Used for Good or Bad Purposes

• A strong-willed dictator• A diligent terrorist• A conscientious computer hacker• A generous thief

Therefore, UPF Teaches Virtues within the Framework of Three Basic Life Goals

Three Basic Life Goals

Mature Character

Positive Contribution

Loving Relationships & Family

The Family Teaches Altruism through Four Spheres of Love

• A child’s love for parents

• A sibling’s love for brothers and sisters

• A spouse’s love for husband or wife

• A parent’s love for a child

Altruism—to live for the sake of others— is the virtue of virtues, encompassing

all the others

The Family Is theFirst School of Love and Peace

Advanced Technology Calls for Advanced Altruism

To use our technological power for good and not ill

“The greater our material power, the greater our need for spiritual insight

and virtue.”

Arnold Toynbee, British historian, Civilization on Trial

Theodore Roosevelt 26th President of the US

“To educate a man in mind and not morals is to educate a menace to society.”

UPF’s Discovering the Real MeCharacter Education Curriculum

• Teaches character through the power of story

• Age-appropriate books, covering ages 5-18

• For use in homes, schools, and community venues