Character Ed

Posted: November 18th, 2013 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | No Comments »

New from Nobel-winner James Heckman (via Jay Greene’s blog)

Character skills include perseverance (\grit”), self-control, trust, attentiveness, self-esteem and self-ecacy, resilience to adversity, openness to experience, empathy, humility, tolerance of diverse opinions, and the ability to engage productively in society.

Our emphasis on character skills does not arise from any agenda to impose Western middle-class values on society. A strong base of cognitive and character skills is universally valued across dierent cultures, religions, and societies. There are reliable ways to measure them, and there are proven ways to enhance them….

Whole paper here.

Hmm.

To what extent should BIA seek to enhance character? If so, how? At what expense (i.e., take time away from our staff seeking to improve literacy, science, math instruction, and put them on this instead?) Do Kenyan parents want this?

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Mike

(Click on my head for bio)

I'm Mike Goldstein, founder of Match Education, and the Charles Sposato Graduate School of Education, both in Boston. I happily worked there from 1998 to 2013, and am now a board member and volunteer advisor.

In May 2013 I began work with Bridge International Academies, a rapidly growing network of 134 schools in Kenya. Background story in NY Times here. I'm excited and daunted by the challenge.

Over the years, I've served on various advisory boards, including transition teams for the past two MA governors (Deval Patrick and Mitt Romney), the National Council for Teacher Quality, Harvard's Futures of School Reform, Boston Schoolchildren's Consortium, Blue Engine, Blueprint Schools, Lee Academy Pilot School, and Education Sector. Dig basketball. My Gmail address is MikeGoldsteinBridge.

Character Ed

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