Character Development

Thomas Lickona:

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Background of Thomas Lickona

Born in 1943. He’s an American

development psychologist and educationalist, and he specializes in the field of character education since it has emerged.

Attended Siena College, where he got his Bachelor’s of Arts in 1964 and Ohio State University where he got his Master’s Degree in 1965.

He was the president for the Association for Moral Education in the 1990s and is currently a consultant for the Washington DC-based Character Education Partnership (CEP).

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Major Influences to Thomas Lickona

Lickona was not highly influenced by any one psychologist or theory other than that of values education, which is a strong proponent in most Catholic/Christian upbringings and most Catholic schools.

Values education is basically just the idea that teachers, besides teaching lessons, also must transmit their values to the pupils. This is where the controversy comes into play.

Many believe this theory has its place at home and church, but not in schools.

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Thomas Lickona’s Theory

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said it most simply: “Character is destiny.”

“Character shapes the individual and as thus, shapes the entire nation, and from there shapes the entire world.”

Basically Lickona felt that values and morals is the job of society as a whole and not just the job of the parents at home. It takes a community to raise and child and such.

“All of us who are parents naturally want our children to be successful. But we know in our bones that it's their character – their honesty, sense of responsibility, kindness, perseverance in the face of difficulty, courage in the face of danger or social pressure – that makes them human. If they lack these, brains and success don't count for much. “

The novelist Walker Percy once said, "Some people get all A's but flunk life." In living a life well, as a proverb puts it, "An ounce of character is worth a pound of intelligence."

Raising Good Children: How to help your child develop a lifelong sense of honesty, decency, and respect for others.

Critique of Thomas Lickona’s Theory

The basic argument against the theory is this: some parents want to deeply implant their values to their children and they don’t feel like anyone else should be a part of it.

Other than those parents out there, his work is widely accepted and praised.

Classroom Application of Lickona’s Theory

Lickona’s Theory of character education is basically just a more widely accepted version of earlier theories of values and moral education.

You can apply it in the classroom at a young age by rewarding for honesty, decency, helping out your classmates (when appropriate), and such other good deeds and punish for stealing, lying, fighting, and other bad deeds.

This theory is pretty widely used around the United States but to what extent varies from place to place and school to school.

Educating for Character: How our schools can teach respect and responsibility.

References

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0229.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Values_education

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lickona