Character education
2007-11-08 12:53:00.0
AUTHOR: Judy Turner
This years annual conference of the NZEI (Primary Teachers Union) conference gave whole-hearted support to a new report that calls on the government to give greater support to schools in regard to dealing with disruptive children.
Among proposals in the report was a resolution to push for "agreed national guidelines" on the rights of children, teachers and support staff.
Truancy in NZ schools is at an all time high, with 30,000 pupils missing from school on any given day. An 06 school violence survey revealed that one in seven Primary Teachers reported being physically assaulted.
While the NZEI was asking for more financial and practical resources for schools, they seemed to be either silent or oblivious to a very inexpensive option with a proven track record in NZ schools for measurably improving student behaviour, attendance and parent involvement in schools.
I'm talking about Character Education programmes.
UnitedFuture has always advocated for the inclusion of these programmes in all NZ schools.
These programmes deliberately teach and model a list of specific and agreed upon values like honesty and respect in an integrated way.
Those NZ schools who already use this approach are convinced of their merit and teachers say that it gives them a clear framework on which to hang their behaviour management strategies.
If you want to find out more then visit this site to see how one very successful programme works here in NZ.