Grade School
Grade School Counselor's Corner
by Marti Philippi
October 31, 2009
Character Education & Life Skills Essential
by Marti Philippi
November 2, 2009
The research indicates a need for character education and life skills training for children in the elementary grades. At Satanta grades kindergarten through three are being taught character education through the Auto-B-Good Program. Fourth through sixth grades will work on a program named Life Skills Training: Promoting Health and Personal Development.
Auto-B-Good enables the student to learn about numerous character traits. So far our primary students have learned about punctuality, promptness, readiness, courage, initiative, self-reliance, tolerance, and consideration. This is a continuation of the Auto-B-Good program from last year. The goal is to help students gain an understanding of how each character trait affects their actions and their lives. It also helps them to understand how the lack of good character impacts others and themselves in a negative way. Students should 1) know such that it allows them to have a practical understanding of the trait,
2) have desire such that they want the trait in their lives, and, 3) act so the trait is put into action.
As we waited for our Life Skill workbooks to come in, our intermediate grades were also learning about character traits. Beginning now the older students will focus on life skills such as decision-making, drug prevention, dealing with stress, communication skills, and social skills. The Life Skills Training Program, which we piloted for small schools in this part of Kansas, is based on extensive scientific research. For instance, evidence indicates a strong impact on prevention of substance abuse. Life Skills is also a program recommended by the state to counter bullying. The program utilizes a very comprehensive approach as it emphasizes life skills through skills training. Thorough evaluation of the program documents it as being extremely effective in targeting and ridding negative behavior.
It is of the utmost importance to have a comprehensive character education and life skills training program at the elementary level. Our hope and aim is to better prepare students for life in these areas while at the same time improving immediate behavior.
