The education of children should not only be about filling their heads with knowledge. It should also be to teach them how to live.
If there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. – Chinese Proverb
Since G1 was little, I have often on the lookout for ways to support the development of his character. Being a boy who is very fond of books and reading, I find that stories are particularly useful for getting my message across. In the past, we have used simple books like:
I also tried Value Life Books but they somehow did not interest him the same way they reached me when I was a child.
Recently, I saw “Character Development – Beyond Academic Achievement” by Stephen Curtis in one of the school Scholastic catalogues and I decided to give it a go.
Written as a resource book for both students and teachers, Character Development is aimed at children between 9 to 13 years old. It covers values and qualities such as integrity, self-discipline, courage, patience, compassion, tolerance, and many more. To see the full listing, check out the table of contents below:
Each topic is explained and supported with a variety of examples from children’s stories and real life events. At the end of the chapter, there is a series of questions you can use as an outline for discussion with your child. Here’s a preview from two chapters in the book:
What’s the Reaction?
G1 seems quite absorbed by the book. He hasn’t really been keen to discuss much of it with me, but at least he’s reading about qualities I hope he’ll embrace…
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters. – Alan Simpson