KAREN BOHLIN, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF ETHICS AND CHARACTER

By Jennifer Brady

Guidance Channel: How would you define good character? Do you think it is something you are born with or something that needs to be cultivated or nurtured?

Dr. Bohlin: Character is your composite of habits both good and bad. The goal of character education is to help children to develop those good habits that will enable them to flourish intellectually, personally, and socially, to help them to become their best selves.

Good character is both nurtured and cultivated. Good character is nurtured in the context of healthy relationships between parents and children, among peers, and with the support of teachers, coaches, and mentors. Children learn first by imitation and example. As they mature, they begin to cultivate their own character through the choices and habits they make on their own: through what they choose to do with their time, energy and talent. Character is not just something that’s formed during childhood, it’s a lifelong process.

GC: Would you say that it is more difficult to transform one’s character later on in life?

Dr. Bohlin: A lot of people make that argument. I am not that pessimistic. Of course it’s much more difficult to break bad habits than to learn good ones. That is why developing good habits in childhood is so important.

GC: In your article, “Values, Views or Virtues,” published in Education Week, you assert that character education should be based on virtues rather than values or views. What do you consider to be the differences between values, views and virtues?

Dr. Bohlin: Values are preferences. They can be deeply held preferences and desires or things we ascribe worth to. There are also things that we value that are negative -- things that are harmful to ourselves or to other people. Values can be good, bad or indifferent. They are highly subjective because they are preferences. They are an estimation of what we desire and may not command a commitment from us in terms of our behavior. We may value good literature, but rarely make time to read it. We can be inconsistent in espousing one thing and actually doing another.

Views are intellectual convictions, perspectives or opinions on ideologically- or politically-charged issues. They are not necessarily objectively good or bad, right or wrong. Sometimes our views can divide us, especially on highly-charged issues such as gun control or school prayer. Good people can disagree on such views and still respect one another, though. Views shouldn’t be a platform for the development of character in children because views are subjects for discourse and debate. Our views don’t necessary define how well we lead our lives or how well we treat other people.

Virtues have much more to do with who we are. Our virtues command action. They come from within; they are not something we just talk about. If a person is honest, we can count on the fact that when the person finds a wallet in the street, he or she will look for its owner. It is a habitual way of being that doesn’t change depending on convenience, preference or whim.

GC: Why do you consider virtues-based character education the most effective?

Dr. Bohlin: Virtues cut to the core of what unites us as human beings versus what divides us. We distinguish ourselves from one another with our views. Our values are wide-ranging and wholly subjective. We can fight at length about what people value and why.

When you consider virtues, you think about ideals and habits such as courage, self-discipline, justice, wisdom and integrity. Few people are going to argue that those aren’t character traits worth aspiring to. These universal characteristics of human beings are attractive and compelling to us.

Virtues are at the heart of good learning and good teaching. For students to learn they need diligence, perseverance, patience and self-discipline. For teachers to teach well, they need a commitment to their students and patience when working with them. These habits make these relationships work and sustain learning.

GC: What specific steps can schools take to develop a school community based on virtues?

Dr. Bohlin: There are several things that schools can do. There needs to be a conversation about the character goals for students among the entire school community including the nurses, custodians, bus drivers, parents, teachers, and administrators. Middle school and high school students can be a part of that conversation as well.

The school community needs to ask themselves, “What do we stand for? What kinds of students do we hope to graduate or promote from one year to the next? What are our aspirations for our students?” When those questions are raised, you get beyond discussion of strictly test scores and negative behavior. You foster dialogue about what lies at the heart of teaching and learning: developing mind and character. These discussions enable educators to see their work as a task with a vision: educating students who are willing to give back to their school and community, and are concerned about local, social and global issues.

Once a set of principles or a short list of core virtues has been identified, a school can then determine how those virtues can be integrated into their mission. What can we do to raise awareness of them? What can we do to foster more reflection on their importance? How across the curriculum can students be challenged? Many schools have a focus on character in their mission statement, but rarely acknowledge it. There are many opportunities in the context of the school day for students to do that.

GC: Opportunities for teaching character in social studies and English are more obvious because teachers can use history and literature as examples. Are there other ways that educators can introduce such concepts into science and math classes?

Dr. Bohlin: I know an eight grade science teacher who has a discussion with his students about the importance of respecting the data and not falsifying it to make something “work.” In science in particular, there are also questions of safety and responsibility.

There are many ways to foster virtue. The effort it takes to commit oneself to commit oneself to study, to collaborate on a group project and so on, invites an education in virtue.

GC: How can teachers cultivate virtues without advocating their personal, political or religious views?

Dr. Bohlin: What teachers can do is be wary of their own understanding of character education. If they believe that character education is about teaching religion in school, then they have a misunderstanding of character education. If they believe character education is about promoting their presidential candidate, they have a misunderstanding of character education. They need to focus on those habits that cut across faith traditions and political platforms.

I think a lot of teachers are a little weary of character education. They think they are being invited to become park bench preachers, to get on their soapbox and start moralizing. But the best example students can have is our own. We need to be sure that the adults in the school community are reflecting these virtues and putting them into practice. It helps when we are inspired by what they look like in the lives of those around us.

GC: How would you define an ethical environment and how can teachers create such an environment in their classrooms?

Dr. Bohlin: An ethical environment is an environment wherein children are taken seriously in their own right. They are respected for who they are, not simply how they perform. Yet at the same time, they are challenged to perform at their very best. In an ethical environment, teachers are vigilant of exclusion, teasing, taunting and ridicule. They teach students about the importance of respect and friendship on the playground, in the cafeteria, in the classrooms and on the school bus. Students and teachers alike are invested in promoting a classroom where it is safe to learn and where everyone is supported.

GC: In Building Character in Schools: Practical Ways To Bring Moral Instruction, a book you wrote with Kevin Ryan, you assert that schools should help students to become “aggressively reflective.” What does this mean and how can it be accomplished?

Dr. Bohlin: Aggressive reflection is where students reflect on what they did wrong and identify an action plan for what they can do differently next time. It is also crucial for students to realize why is it important that they do things differently next time. They also need to reflect on positive things, not just negative. If we don’t invite students to reflect, they will just be blindly carrying out orders or mindlessly pursuing ambitions and impulses and never really assessing what is worthwhile.

GC: How can educators help students take command of their own moral developments?

Dr. Bohlin: Educators themselves need to spend time reflecting on the importance of moral education and thinking about what drew them to teaching in the first place. Most teachers will say it wasn’t simply to teach math, but to teach a love of math, a commitment to the subject and the ability to overcome fear of failure. They will talk a lot about the desire to shape lives, not just to inform minds. When they reflect on those original motivations, and that can be a helpful reminder of dignity in their work as teachers.

It’s also important that teachers study moral philosophy. That can be done by having a series of books about character education and inviting teachers to read a chapter once a month and have a discussion about it. These resources can serve as the intellectual and cultural foundation for understanding ethics and character development.

GC: On the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character's website, you list the “Six E’s of Character Education.” What are they and how can these concepts help educators promote ethics?

Dr. Bohlin: The first E is example. Example always speaks more loudly than words. The second E is explanation. Children need an introduction to the moral life. They need an explanation of right from wrong. For example, they need an explanation of what courage is. It’s not just being daring, it’s knowing what’s to be feared and what’s not to be feared. Recklessness is not courage. Young people need our guidance and our instruction because they may not discover such distinctions on their own.

The third E is exhortation. Children need a passionate response to something negative or they need strong encouragement to something positive. Experience is the fourth E. For example, students need experience succeeding and failing at something in school in order to grow in understanding of what hard work means.

The fifth E is then Ethos or an ethical environment. The community, which creates our environment, shapes us and influences who we are and how we behave. The sixth E is expectations of excellence. Children are not inspired by the mediocre, they are inspired by greatness.

GC: How can service learning contribute to developing ethics in students?

Dr. Bohlin: Service learning is fundamental to the development of character because it keeps us focused on the needs of others. It provides an excellent way for children to realize that they can give their time, talent and energy in a way that is really needed in our society. Community service can broaden one’s perspective, increase one’s sensitivity to the needs of others, and foster a sense of gratitude.

GC: Many people assume that parents should be responsible for teaching their children morals. Why should schools become involved in developing children’s character and how can schools engage parents into the process?

Dr. Bohlin: Parents are the primary character educators of their children. Schools should not see themselves as anything but second. Educators might say some parents are not doing their jobs. So, in fact, they are first. But for good or bad, parents are the primary educators of their children’s character. However, schools can help parents by providing a place where parents can meet and talk to each other about good parenting and building good habits of character in children.

About Karen Bohlin

Dr. Karen Bohlin, Assistant Professor of Education at Boston University, directs the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character. She authored Building Character in Schools (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999) together with Kevin Ryan and has published work on character education in Action in Teacher Education, Education Week, and elsewhere. Her research focuses on moral motivation, or what she calls the "schooling of desire," and on how literature sheds light on the movement of the heart towards moral excellence. Dr. Bohlin has served as a lecturer and consultant to educational corporations and to several schools across the country. Before coming to Boston University, she taught middle and high school English and led numerous student educational and service programs internationally. She has served as a trustee of two schools in Massachusetts. Dr. Bohlin is also a member of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) National Commission on Character Education.