Helping Students Help Themselves

As adults it’s often easy for us to know what the right thing to do is and then to do it. We have, after all, lived complex lives filled with many challenging situations that required us to contemplate right and wrong, and the consequences of our action or inaction.

It is different for our students, however. Their lives have not been so long, and their experiences not as varied. They need our help. Just as our parents and teachers guided us toward becoming people of good character, so we must do the same for our students.

Good character involves three components: moral knowing, moral feeling and moral action. In other words, we have to know what is right; feel what is right, and then do what is right. These three components are often referred to as the head, the heart, and the hands. It sounds so easy! Of course, the reality is quite different. Sometimes we do know what is right, but look the other way because it’s inconvenient. At other times, we may feel that something is definitely wrong, but have no clue about what action we can take to rectify the situation.

The primary goal of character education is to teach children moral knowing, moral feeling and moral action, and the particular behaviors that are required to bring the head, the heart and the hands to bear in their lives.

Moral knowing, for example, requires that students think deeply about complex issues and examine them from multiple points of view. Moral feeling will call upon students to face the pain and suffering that is a part of all of our lives and the world, and not to become paralyzed by it. And moral action will require students to persevere in difficult situations in order to develop the habits of good character.

It’s important for students to learn and come to fully understand that good character is not something that happens accidentally or by chance. People, who know the good, feel the good, and do the good must work at it. They practice until it becomes second-nature.

History is strewn with examples of people who live by the head, the heart and the hands. Some of them are famous, like Rosa Parks, while the good character of others plays out on smaller stages; like the person who volunteers in an animal shelter, or the members in a community who check on their elderly neighbors during the winter months.

The Interactive

The What Should You Do? exhibit features five challenging situations with which many students will be familiar. These scenarios involve bullying, gossip, fighting, vandalism, and cheating. The scenarios also focus on some core values. These values are:

• heroism
• fairness
• courage
• perseverance
• honesty
• caring
• forgiveness
• gratitude
• respect
• responsibility
• generosity
• creativity

The exhibit uses five historical figures who exemplify both the specific values which are the primary focus of the exhibit, and the head, the heart and the hand.

• Harriet Tubman and Heroism

A hero is an individual who knows what is morally right and has the courage to act on that moral knowledge; even in the face of danger. A hero assumes personal responsibility for an injustice and takes deliberate steps to try to right a wrong.

Harriet Tubman was an African American abolitionist who was born into slavery in the 19th century. She had no personal wealth and was denied any type of education. Harriet was forced to work at the age of five. She was routinely beaten. As a teenager, she suffered a significant injury when a slave owner threw a two-pound weight which hit her in the head.

In her late 20’s Harriet managed to escape from slavery; an act which required an immense amount of moral courage and fortitude in and of itself. She could have stopped there and remained in the North where she was safe; but she didn’t. Harriet Tubman clearly had a highly developed moral sense. She frequently returned to the South in order to help others escape slavery. Although her moral action put her at enormous personal risk, it also alleviated suffering, contributed to the greater good, and made the world a better place.

• Heroism and Violence Prevention

Harriet Tubman is featured in the scenario about the potential of cyber-bullying leading to violence because she was an upstander.

StopCyberBullying.org defines cyber-bullying as “a situation in which a child, tween or teen is repeatedly tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, tween or teen” using some kind of electronic device - from cellphones and internet chat rooms to social networking platforms like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. The prevalence of these devices and social networking websites along with the fact that the technology itself facilitates anonymity has led to a continued increase in this type of destructive behavior. Schools and school districts are now enacting new policies and training teachers to deal with cyber-bullying incidents.

In this scenario students are encouraged to think about the necessity of being an upstander. An upstander is a person who recognizes injustice and wrong-doing and works to make it right, regardless of whether or not they are personally involved. Harriet Tubman personally took moral action and leadership in a situation that did not involve her directly.

Additional Examples:

Craig Kielburger is Canadian activist who founded Free the Children, an organization that works to raise awareness about world-wide child labor and the sexual exploitation of children.

John Chapman is also known as Johnny Appleseed. Chapman was a kind of proto-environmentalist who traveled around the frontier and planted apple trees and talked about the importance of conservation.

Kielburger and Chapman, like Tubman are examples of upstanders because they took responsibility for situations which did not involve them personally in order to help others.

• Susan B. Anthony and Fairness

Fairness means that everyone, regardless of their race, gender, or socio-economic status is treated even-handedly. It means that no one is rewarded or penalized simply based upon an ascribed status. To treat someone fairly requires more than simply not participating in, or initiating unfair treatment: it also requires that a person intervene when they see the unfair treatment of others.

Susan B. Anthony, like Harriet Tubman was born in the 19th century. She was born during a time of great inequality for women. Men in society had greater value and were afforded opportunities that were denied females. When Susan was a child, one of her teachers refused to teach her math because she was a female.

At about the age of 30, Susan was inspired to take up the cause of women’s rights via the suffrage movement. The suffrage movement was a movement that worked to get women the right to vote. Women’s suffrage was not initially a popular or influential movement. But because of Anthony, and her insistence of fair and equal treatment, the movement grew. Anthony devoted all of her life to the cause of equality for women. She died before the passage of the 19th Amendment, but its passage was in large part due to her hard work and commitment.

• Fairness and Resolving Conflicts Peacefully

Susan B. Anthony is featured in the scenario about the importance of being fair to all of the parties involved in a conflict because her position in the women’s suffrage movement required that she understand and empathize with multiple, and often conflicting points of view. In this scenario, which involves two boys having a misunderstanding over a girl, students are encouraged to think about the importance reserving judgment and respecting the point of view of all people who may be involved in a conflict.

Additional Examples:

Eleanor Roosevelt was an advocate of civil/human rights, not only for Americans, but for people all over the world. She founded the UN Association of the United States, and chaired the committee in the United Nations that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Eleanor Roosevelt believed in the dignity of all people and, like Anthony, worked to promote fairness and the equal treatment of all.

• Mahatma Gandhi and Courage

Courage is the ability of an individual to be bold and brave in a situation which could put them at risk for the benefit of others. Courageous people sometimes put their physical well being on the line to do what is morally right. Other people of courage risk their reputations, personal happiness, financial security, and status within a particular group in the pursuit of truth and justice. People who expose wrong doing in large corporations or others who testify against dangerous people, all demonstrate exceptional courage.

Mahatma Gandhi was born in colonial India in the 19^th century. Colonial rule was exceedingly unfair to the Indian population. The British enacted many laws that made life difficult for ordinary people. As a young man Ghandi studied law and traveled to South Africa, another European colonial power. There he experienced great discrimination because he was Indian. He was beaten and often threatened by Europeans because he was Indian. He was thrown off of a train once because he refused to move to the third-class coach.

When he returned to India, he began to work tirelessly on behalf of his people. He was not a large or physically powerful man, but he had the moral courage to stand up to the British Empire and to inspire others to do so as well.

In the 1930’s the British enacted a law which imposed an unfair tax on Indians for the production of salt. In protest, Gandhi organized a peaceful, nonviolent march. He walked from the town of Sabarmati Ashram, 240 miles to Dandi, Gujarat. As Gandhi and about 80 others marched, tens of thousands of Indians lined the streets to join him. When Gandhi and his supporters reached Dandi they were welcomed by a crowd of 50,000. There, in defiance of the British law, Gandhi made his own salt.

• Courage to Stop Vandalism

Mahatma Gandhi is featured in this scenario about vandalism because he had to stand alone for what was right against a larger and more powerful group of people. In this scenario, in which an unsupervised party gets out of control, students are encouraged to think about the importance of having the fortitude to be the lone voice standing up for what is just even though it may make you unpopular or cause hardship.

Additional Examples:

Clara Barton was a nurse during the American Civil War. She was often called the angel of the Battlefield. Her experiences in the war inspired her to create the American Red Cross. Barton led the American Red Cross for over 20 years.

Florence Nightingale was a British nurse who tended to the wounded during the Crimean War. After the war was over, Nightingale worked relentlessly to improve hospital conditions in England. She made enormous contributions to public health and founded a prestigious nursing school.

Jeffrey Wigand was a researcher for a company that produced cigarettes. When he discovered that tobacco companies were putting ingredients into cigarettes that made them more addictive he alerted the press and the public. He was harassed and received death threats for coming forward. Barton, Nightingale and Wigand all displayed immense courage. Like Gandhi, all three put themselves in harms way to care for and work for the benefit of others.

• Cesar Chavez and Perseverance

Perseverance is the ability to work hard at something that may take a long time and be difficult to accomplish. Perseverance requires determination.

Caesar Chazez was a Mexican American who was born in the early 20th century. His family were migrant farm workers. Growing up, Chavez witnessed the unjust treatment of many migrant farm workers. The workers were often exploited. They often worked unsafe conditions, long hours, and were not paid a fair wage.

As a young man Chavez joined the United States Navy and served in WWII. After his service he became a community organizer in California and worked on behalf of the migrant workers. He worked hard and encouraged Mexican Americans to vote so they had a voice in how they were treated.

Over time, the migrant workers movement grew. In the 1960’s, Chavez founded the National Farm Worker’s Association, a union which served the needs of migrant farm workers. Chavez organized strikes and boycotts to help bring national attention to the injustices suffered by farm workers. He also participated in fasts to garner attention to the plight of migrant workers. Like Gandhi, Chavez and the National Farm Worker’s practiced nonviolence.

• Perseverance and Bullying Prevention

Everyday millions of American students are bullied at school. It’s critical that these kids know that they needn’t continue to be the victim of a bully. Often, however, overcoming a bully requires perseverance. Bullies won’t back-off just simply because you ask them to. It’s important for students to learn the strategies that are available to them to help them stand-up to bullies and to draw on the experience of others who refused to allow themselves to be victimized.

Caesar Chazez is featured in the scenario about bullying because he and the union he founded were threatened by others with regularity. Intimidation was routinely used to discourage people from organizing and achieving their goals. In this scenario students are encouraged to think about how, regardless of how challenging a situation may be that they press on in the face of difficulty. Without perseverance very little personally or communally would ever be accomplished.

Additional Examples:

James Earl Jones is a highly acclaimed American actor. He is known for his unique voice. Ironically, Jones struggled with speech problems for most of his young life. He had a pronounced stutter and was functionally mute for many years. With the help of a teacher and extraordinary perseverance, Jones was able to overcome his speech impairment to become an award-winning actor, One of his most famous roles is as the voice of the Star Wars character, Darth Vadar.

Lance Armstrong is a professional bike-racer. At the age of 25 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain. Armstrong’s cancer was treated and went into remission. He returned to the cycling word and won the Tour de France seven times.

Dorothea Dix was a 19th century American activist. She worked tirelessly on behalf of people with mental illness and raised awareness about their struggles. She is credited with the founding of the country’s first hospitals to treat and care for people with mental illness.

In order to accomplish their goal, Jones, Armstrong and Dix had to persevere through difficult times. Like Chavez, their individual achievements took years of hard work to accomplish.

• Roberto Clemente and Honesty

Honesty means more than simply not telling lies. To live your life honestly means that you live your life with honor and integrity.

Roberto Clemente was a professional baseball player from Puerto Rico. He played mostly in the 60’s and 70’s. He won 12 Gold Gloves Awards, played on several All-Star teams and won two World Series. He was the MVP in the 1971 World Series.

Although Clemente was a legendary major league baseball player who earned a good salary, he spent a lot of his time doing charitable work. In 1972, the capital city of Managua, in Nicaragua was struck by a huge earthquake. Many people died and others struggled for survival. Clemente organized emergency relief and sent it on planes to the city to help those in need. Unfortunately, he learned that most of the badly needed supplies were being stolen by corrupt government officials.

In order to solve the problem, Clemente arranged another flight of supplies and traveled with the goods to insure that they would not be stolen by people who didn’t need them. On his way to Nicaragua, the plane crashed and Clemente died.

• Honesty to Do the Right Thing

Roberto Clemente is featured in the scenario about honesty and the importance of delaying gratification because despite his position in his life, he was committed and devoted to helping others. It would have been very easy for a young and famous baseball player like Clemente to spend his time simply living the good life. In this scenario, students are encouraged to think about the importance putting off fun and working hard not only to become good at what they do, but also to be of service to others. Clemente said, “If you have an opportunity to make things better, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on earth.”

Additional Examples:

Erin Brokovitch was a legal clerk who built a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, whose practices contaminated the drinking water in a small town in California. The contamination caused illness among the residents. The people of Hinkley sued the company and were awarded $ 333 million dollars.

While Brokovitch was not harmed by the contaminated water and had no financial stake in the case, she worked tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of Hinkley, and helped them to fight against a huge corporate giant who were lying about the dangers of their business practices.

Making Adjustments

These scenarios offered in the What Should You Do? provide students with three possible choices and they are encouraged to select the one they think is best. It’s important to note, however, that the choices that may be best for a 10th grader, will not necessarily be the best choice for a 3rd grader, and that all possible permutations are not represented. The age of your students will play a role in determining how you will ultimately use this interactive exhibit and the accompanying activities.

If you are working with young students in the K-3 range it will be important for you to state clearly what sorts of behaviors are acceptable and expected, and the consequences for not conforming their behavior to the norm. For example: if you are being bullied, or you are a witness to bullying, you get an adult. If you are the one who is bullying, there will be consequences.

Older students can accommodate nuanced responses to these situations. Helping them to think more deeply about what motivates their behavior and decision-making will be useful.

The National Liberty Museum’s Heroes of Character website has numerous classroom activities based around these interactives and the values which are featured in them. The activities were designed specifically to extend the museum experience.

Resource

ABC’s Primetime produces a program entitled What Would You Do? The program sets-up a series of ethical dilemmas and secretly films how the public responds to them. Some of these clips may be good starting points for any discussion about ethical behavior. The link is provided below.

Primetime’s What Would You Do? http://abcnews.go.com/whatwouldyoudo