Lowell Joint School District

In the Lowell Joint School District, one very important part of our curriculum includes the teaching of character traits in order to strengthen our students’ self-esteem, personal responsibility, and decision making to develop the moral convictions of right and wrong and withstand undesirable peer pressure.

Character Education is not new. Teaching of good character and conduct in life started with our founding fathers, who recognized that the preservation of freedom in a democratic society depended upon the perpetuation of certain basic principles. In recent years, public concern about today’s children has begun to merge into a call for renewed attention and response to the building of character and ethical behavior in the school children of this nation. Increasingly, the consensus is that these principles should be learned early on in the home, the community, as well as in school, so they are consistently transmitted to the younger generations.

Believing this, our District has placed a high priority of providing a Character Education guide for every teacher so that each child receives instruction and practice in building strong, responsible character. A curriculum guide, developed by a committee of administrators and teachers, includes lessons built around nine major themes, each exploring character traits through quotes, sayings, and classroom activities that utilize student involvement, interaction, and planned follow-through.

Each month all schools in the District focus on a major theme, such as responsibility. For that month, students will learn about responsibility and what it means to apply it to their daily lives. They will be asked to be more responsible in their academic and social life at school and to then share what they have learned with their parents through family homework activities. In this way, we hope to make a lasting impression in this area of character development.

The Lowell Joint teachers and administrators are committed to teaching these nine character traits. We believe that the impact of that teaching will be greatly enhanced if those same traits are taught, supported, and reinforced at home. For that reason, we ask parents to join us in this partnership.

 

August: Citizenship

September: Respect

October: Making Good Choices

November: Gratitude

December: Kindness

January: Goal Setting

February: Honesty and Truthfulness

March: Self Discipline and Self Control

April: Responsibility

May: Friendship