09 The Goal of Education: Character Building of Students
The Goal of Education: Character Building of Students
“Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
Recently, there is a lot of discussion within the education communities of Hong Kong on whether or not character building should be one of the major concerns that a school should focus on. Early before this, there has been a lot of critiques in the global education platform that world academics appeared to have challenged the topic of “What is the real goal of education?”.
Below are some of the examples that some scholars wrote:
“Education is not only about learning subjects such as Math, English, and Science. A more comprehensive definition of education addresses the emotions, personality, and character as well...[1]” (Spallino, 2017)
“Education is not just a process of transferring knowledge and developing skills. More importantly, it is meant to develop character… character encompasses the qualities of self-worth, integrity, humility, truthfulness, thoughtfulness, discipline, sharing, passion and determination in pursuit of a quest.[2]” (Nasuruddin, 2018)
“What is the goal of education? There is no denying that the majority views education as a tool to enable children or students in developing the skills, knowledge and the expertise to become responsible and contributing members of the society in which they live… However… without good characters ingrained in a person, education becomes a bane, a tool for exploiting fellow human beings. The benefits of education which is to liberate the humans from their miseries…[3]” (Hansdah, 2017)
The development of character is a process that requires the efforts of the developing individual and the society and the school. It is an obligation we as educators all share, not least the parents. We believe that a society can determine to enable its members to live well will treat character education as something to which every child has a right and will benefit. Therefore, schools should consider questions about the kinds of persons their students will become, how the development of good character contributes to a flourishing life, and how to balance various virtues and values in this process. If WFJLPS is asked to write her own vision, mission and values statements on how character building elements can be included, I would like to suggest the following as the complement of our established ones:
1. Our Vision
Every child is a confident, competent and compassionate individual and future citizen – who is capable of learning, with high self-esteem, open-minded, inclusive, a person of integrity; who is able to lead good lives, fulfil one’s potentials and take responsibilities, respect and care for others, be resilient, as well as become outstanding future leader.
2. Our Mission
To strive to provide a safe, comfortable and caring environment with the necessary conditions to support and develop students into confident, competent and compassionate individuals and future leaders, who are effective contributors to society, successful learners and responsible citizens.
3. Our Core Values
Care, Inclusiveness, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect, Responsibility
Perhaps, some people might wonder if WFJLPS goes for character building, will the school put less emphasis on students’ academic attainment? In fact, The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues of the University of Birmingham[4] has promoted this in her position paper, “A Framework for Character Education in Schools”. It says, “Good character is the foundation for improved attainment and human flourishing.” And, KIPP[5] also wrote: “Success in life depends on both academics and character.” Do you agree with these statements? We do!
[1] See “How Character Education Helps Kids Learn and Develop”, by Dr. Jessica Spallino, January 23, 2017. (https://www.methodschools.org/blog/how-character-education-helps-kids-learn-and-develop)
[2] See “Education is to build character”, by Mohamed Ghouse B=Nasuruddin, July 8, 2018. (https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2018/07/388589/education-build-character)
[3] See “Character Building is Vital for Education”, by Raj Kumar Hansdah, 2017. (https://www.beaninspirer.com/character-building-is-vital-for-education/)
[4] The Centre also says: “Good character is the foundation for improved attainment, better behavior and increased employability, but most importantly, healthier societies.” For more details, please visit the website: www.jubileecentre.ac.uk. [5] The Knowledge is Power Program (https://www.kipp.org/)
