Character in the Classroom: The Importance of Principles
Dr. Kurt Kreassig, Regent University School of Education
Teaching principles to children – whether it’s elementary, middle, or high school – it’s needed for who we are as a people, who we are as God’s children. We want to put students out there in careers, in a trade, in whatever they desire to do, but really have a foundation that they can reflect on before they make decisions.
In other words, as a Christian, I reflect on my foundation of Christ before I make a decision. Is this decision I’m getting ready to make going to be a good decision? Who am I impacting? What are the consequences of my decision?
Teaching those principles early on helps kids to develop that mindset where they’re mindful of other things and other people, and their actions and the influence their action has on others. So it is vitally important.
Right now, in Christian education, we teach from the heart. We teach about the heart. Public schools do teach character education, but it’s surface-level at times.
It all comes down to the teacher in the classroom and their modeling behavior – the way they treat the students, the way they respond to students. Are they respectful? Do they love their students? That’s why we see so many Christian teachers and Christian students excelling beyond the classroom, and making good decisions to better our society.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Regent University.
