Customer Reviews

Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While this book started off strong, with great definitions and explorations of character, the author goes off on some specific tangents that disrupt from the books central theme and detract from the message. While the author is entitled to his position on abortion, he takes for granted that all people must feel the same way, and spends time on at how many weeks fetal heartbeat is detected to further his position. Interesting in an anti-abortion book, but came out of left field in the chapter he was writing here. Similarly, he takes for granted that all parents naturally want to teach their children that masturbation is immoral, and suggests that if your teen self-identifies as homosexual that you should try to take them to a psychiatrist to get that fixed. Again, a lot of parents might feel this way, but he makes assumptions and then goes off on tangents.
He also uses some questionable data and doesn't support some of his statistics with verifiable sources. For example, he says that homosexual young women are at a higher risk for STDs than heterosexual women (completely untrue) He obviously supports abstinence-based sex education in schools, but doesn't talk about the studies that show that teens who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are more likely to substitute high-risk behaviors that lead to STDs (Journal of Adolescent Health) and are less prepared to handle temptation when they are asked to use willpower alone to manage the risks that can be consequences of adolescent hormones.
I started off loving this book, and dog-eared and high-lighted several pages in the first few chapters, and ignored the first few questionable statistics and tangents, but it got worse and worse, until I felt uncomfortable continuing to read it, like I was reading a parenting book by Jerry Falwell.
One character-building book I'd recommend instead is Character Building Activities For Kids.

I wish this book would be required reading for every school administrator, teacher, and parent. I have been a public school educator for 25 years. I am also a parent and a grandparent.

I found this book to be extremely refreshing in a time where "No Child Left Behind" has taken us too far in the wrong direction. Yes, we want to set high academic expectations for our children and yes, we do want accountability. But what good are high test scores if there is more cheating, dishonesty, cynicism, and disrespect for others? This book, along with many others on Character Education, is a call back to common sense in education: Let's not only raise our expectations for academic achievement, but also for honesty, integrity, responsibility, work ethic, and respect for others. The current NCLB legislation (with its emphasis on high stakes testing) has taken the focus away from educating the whole child. Current education research shows this is not best practice; this is not in the best interest of the child or of our society! This book provides inspiration and hope for educating the whole child. It provides many practical suggestions and ideas for making our homes, schools, and communities a much more civil place to live and learn. If educators, legislators, and parents would read this book and put it's ideas into practice, we would be making a positive difference!

As a graduate student going into the field of school counseling, I found this book extremely interesting and useful. Of all the books I have been assigned to read for classes, this one is by far the best. The ideas and activities Thomas Lickona has come up with for building character and morality in students is phenominal. His ideas are so creative yet simple at the same time. They are also realistic and very diverse for all ages. If you are in the field of education, a parent, or someone just interested in this topic, this book is a MUST! I believe if all educators looked at character education the way Thomas Lickona does we could make a positive difference in our children today.

This book comes at a critical time in our society- it has wonderful ideas and strategies that can be readily applied to school settings- forming partnerships with parents and teachers is especially helpful!

Our school's Site Based Team is in the process of doing something related to Dr. Lickona's book "Character Matters" that we think is exciting. Organized around the "book club" theme, we have been promoting the book as something we think is worth having parents and staff read. Since June of last year, we have sold close to 160 copies of the book; we also have a set of five available to borrow from the school library. This endeavor will culminate with an evening with Dr. Lickona in November, where he facilitates a book talk and takes questions from the audience. We're expecting in excess of 200 parents and educators in attendance, and are quite excited to see where this takes us in our character education initiative. As we were with his previous work, "Raising Good Children", we are indebted to Dr. Lickona for his commitment to promoting good character.

Robert Storrier, Principal

Enders Road Elementary School, Manlius, NY

Our school district began a Character Education initiative three years ago. I am the Coordinator of the project. We knew from the beginning that we wanted to include our entire community but were not sure where to begin. I was fortunate enough to learn about Dr. Tom Lickona's book, Character Matters. After reading the book, I was even more committed to our project. We purchased a book for every employee to read and have used Dr. Lickona's teachings through this book, as a step-by-step guide in implementing Character in Action in Wisconsin. After our first year, we made the decision to host a two-day Character Education Conference for all educators in the Midwest. Dr. Lickona was one of our keynote speakers AND every conference participant received Character Matters in their conference bag. It was the best gift we could give to other educators wanting to know more about character education. I highly recommend this book to anyone, educator, parent or community leader, who is striving to make a difference in our world and wishes to do so the right way!

Thomas Lickona's practical guide to nurturing character is filled with a number of good ideas. Lickona is particularly at his best when he argues for strengthening partnerships between schools, parents, students, and the broader community. His narratives are often inspiring and impress upon the reader the importance of focusing on moral education and socialization.

This said - Lickona's book does a grave injustice in terms of ignoring the complex nature of moral issues and education. Like other proponents of character education, Lickona calls on the ancient Greeks to support his claims. However, the quotes used are out of context. Aristotle believed that there was no recipe for developing character. Rather, Aristotle contends that discerning the proper course of action in any situation requires "phronesis" or practical wisdom that cannot be taught in a step by step manner. This point is essential and should not be glossed over. Indeed, good judgement is the cornerstone of any education. There is no formula for being of good character and there is no formula for teaching in a way that inspires character development- rather it requires a thoughtful examination of context, student personality, teacher personality, and a host of other factors.

Further, Lickona makes some arguments that go against any notions of respect or tolerance. For instance, he seems to condemn homosexuality (as well as masterbation, pre-marital sex, and abortion) and actually provides contact information for a psychologist that can provide referrals to professionals to counsel children with homosexual orientations in a manner congruent with the parents' values (i.e., straight).

Overall - some great tips that I believe no rational adult (right-wing or left) would disagree with. But it seems that Lickona envisions a world much like that portrayed in the movie "Pleasantville" -- seemingly delightful but intolerant of real difference.

As the title indicates, character does indeed matter. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to matter to the author. For example, according to the author, virtues "define what it means to be human." If he had done his homework, he would have seen that this is demonstrably untrue. As C.S. Lewis pointed out, we call gravity a "law" because we observe that it always happens. Natural laws are observations of what nature does. Virtues, however, are just the opposite. We don't call them virtues because we observe that people always practice them. On the contrary, virtues are necessary because they go against our nature. Virtues don't "define" humanity; they transcend natural human tendencies.

Building on such a flawed foundation, Lickona's virtuous edifice crumbles at the smallest sign of stress. After defining "Fortitude" as doing what's right in the face of difficulty, he brings us to what he considers an indication of declining morality: "the use of abortion as backup birth control."

(I want to make it clear,that I'm not arguing about whether abortion is right or wrong, but about Lickona's consistency in application of his list of virtues). He cites evidence that up to 70% of women who have abortions do so against conscience (a violation of his virtue of "integrity"). He describes this issue as "difficult." It seems like an ideal time for him to recommend "fortitude," doing what's right (by their own consciences) in the face of difficulty.

But when confronted with this difficulty, Lickona prescribes a litany of government programs, like "affordable day care." Apparently, what a lack of virtue gets us into (again, by his description), government policy can get us out of. Character doesn't matter, after all.

There are a host of other difficulties, but, given the fundamental flaw just mentioned, they hardly matter. For example, are "a positive attitude" and "hard work" virtues on the level with "fortitude," or are they actually by-products of other true virtues such as "wisdom" and "self-disciplline?"

The fundamental problem is that character is "caught" as much as it is "taught." Lickona himself notes the importance of modeling character as well as giving instruction. Instruction can only produce behaviors that mimic virtue. The late George Burns said, "In Hollywood, sincerity is everything. If you can fake that, you can fake anything."

Lickona's techniques and his passion for the subject pay tribute to character and virtue. His failure to actually apply it is in the end fatal, for, as Oscar Wilde reminded us, "Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue."