Caught, Taught & Sought

There are three approaches we should be continually looking to develop for character education; caught, taught and sought.

Caught

Character virtues can be caught through a positive school community, formational relationships, and a clear ethos.

Taught

Character virtues can be taught through the curriculum using teaching and learning strategies, activities, and resources.

Sought

Character virtues can be sought through chosen experiences that occur within and outside of the formal curriculum.

Taken from The Jubilee Centre Framework for Character Education in Schools

Being able to see, talk and live ‘character’

How do you start to build character education into your practice? Here are some tips...

Develop an appropriate language

Develop an appropriate language to use so students can access character education. This is done in all academic subjects, so developing accessibility for students on what can be considered an abstract, or sensitive concept is vital.

Embed it into the fabric of school life

Everyone in the organisation must ‘see’ character in daily interactions and ‘live’ it through their actions and the actions of others. This develops familiarity and security for students about what feels ‘right’.

Reinforce it consistently

Reinforce character education through all that takes place in school and through all stakeholders in school. Habituation can only occur when students are repeatedly exposed to something. This may be practicing solving moral dilemmas, or the idea of volunteering and service, displaying gratitude or demonstrating compassion for others.

Example

The Colmore junior School Principles

These are our school principles. We created a graphic device which captures the seven key principles of our school.

We have used this image consistently throughout the school on different types of media. The 'logo' has been made into a badge, given when students display the principles.

In doing so, we have helped to embed these principles in our school. Students are more aware of them and can articulate what they mean and how they are exemplified.

back