Sources for Teaching Materials Resources for Character Education
ASCD Character Education Network
Sponsored by ASCD and Boston University's Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, its mission is to help teachers and administrators struggling with the ethical and character formation aspect of their work. Kevin Ryan, Boston University, School of Education, 605 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215. Phone: (617) 353-3262
Center for the Fourth and Fifth Rs (Respect and Responsibility)
Directed by Dr. Thomas Lickona, this center sponsors annual summer institutes in character education, publishes the Fourth and Fifth Rs newsletter, and is forming a network of schools committed to teaching respect, responsibility, and related core values as the basis of good character. Education Department, SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY 13045. Phone: (607) 753-2455. Fax: (607) 753-5980.
http://www.cortland.edu/www/c4n5rs
Civnet
Civnet, established by CIVITAS, is "a Web site for promoting civil society all over the world." The site provides a vast library of teaching resources, lesson plans, discourses on civil society, information on organizations and programs, historical documents, and an excellent list of annotated links to national and international sites that promote civic awareness and democracy. Includes book-length documents, articles, lesson plans contributed by educators, authors, and organizations and a discussion group and selections from the world's greatest historic documents and speeches.
http://www.civnet.org
Communitarian Network
This nonsectarian and nonpartisan coalition of individuals and organizations has come together to shore up the moral, social, and political environment. It sponsors an annual conference; produces position papers on family, health care reform, domestic disarmament, character and a civil society, and organ donation; and publishes a quarterly journal, The Responsive Community: Rights and Responsibilities. 2130 H Street NW, No. 174. Washington, DC 20052. Phone: (202) 994-7997. Fax: (202) 994-1606.
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/
The Heartwood Program
This program offers a multicultural, literature-based curriculum that uses classic children's stories to present seven universal values – courage, loyalty, justice, respect, hope, honesty, and love – to students in Grades K-8. The Heartwood Institute, 425 North Craig Street, Suite 302, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Phone: (412) 688-8570. Fax: (412) 688-8552.
Institute for Global Ethics
Based in Camden, Maine, this organization has available curriculum materials for middle schools and high schools, and much more. The Institute is nonsectarian, global research and educational organization that "supports public discourse and practical action around significant ethical issues." The Institute divides its efforts into three primary areas: corporate services, educational programs, and public policy programs. The institute promotes a variety of "Ethical Fitness" seminars for students and teachers and offers several curricula, including Building Decision Skills (middle and high school), Elementary Decision Skills (middle and high school), Elementary Decision Skills (K-2 and 3-5), and Ethics and Service.
http://www.globalethics.org
The Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics
This nonprofit organization seeks to increase the nation's awareness of ethical issues and to provide people with the skills to make their behaviors more ethical. Activities include research, publications, and skills training workshops; the organization also sponsors the Character Education Coalition. Josephson Institute, 4640 Admiralty Way, Suite 1001, Marina del Rey, CA 90292. Phone: (310) 306-1868. Fax: (310) 827-1864.
