Experience with one young man in a school for troubled adolescents helps author understand how the application of voluntarism could help initiate troubled adolescents into a community of learners and empower them to take control of their lives. Describes the school's successful venture teaming up with Habitat for Humanity to provide work…

Character education has become the fastest growing school reform movement in the United States. Surveys conducted in the last few years indicate that Americans tend to place character (values) education as the highest priority in school restructuring programs, and there is nothing to suggest that the nation's concern is temporary. Teachers in the…

An interim president often plays a crucial role in leading a college or university. In some instances, the interim can address and resolve troublesome issues and thus clear the way for the new president to generate progress. In others, the interim stays the course so that the institution maintains its momentum and seizes strategic opportunities to…

A 3-year project was designed to increase students' abilities to perform competently as professional engineers. The project sought to infuse into existing courses concern for, practice with, and development of three competencies critical to professional success: problem-solving, communication, and value clarification. Eight elementary and advanced…

In the past, the process of education was one of training--the learner was encouraged to follow the ways of priests, parents, professors, and patriarchs. This system works well as long as two conditions exist: if there are few modifications in the society and if people remain in the same place. Increasingly, the opposite conditions are true: few,…

A 2-day conference on teaching moral values in American schools resulted in a report called "Moral Education and Character" which highlights the views of participants from a variety of fields. This brief paper is a synopsis of the issues and arguments presented in that report. Moral education concerns learning about good conduct. It is about the…

Consisting of four modules of three sessions each, this Head Start parenting education curriculum offers parents opportunities to look at their lives from new angles and to share ideas and support with other parents. The first module focuses on daily life and ways to improve it. Parents try out various exercises and relaxation techniques, explore…

Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is a high climbing, exceedingly vigorous vine with twining stems (no tendrils or aerial holdfasts). The plant, introduced from the Orient and currently found in southeastern United States, has been known to choke valuable strands of trees, short electrical wires, and even creep up the sides of high rise buildings. Although…

A curriculum on family life and human sexuality for Grades 5-9 which attempts to deal with both facts and emotions was developed in the Mount Vernon Public Schools (New York). The raising of self esteem and the development of personal and social skills are focused on throughout. The following topics are covered in 12 separate units: (1) positive…

An overview of values education is outlined. The semantic problems relating to the language of values/character education are identified, and some of the extant philosophical postures and controversies are sketched. Semantic issues relate to the interrelationships among the terms "values,""morals," and "ethics" as…

Six different approaches to teaching values in the classroom are reviewed in this paper. Each approach is reviewed according to: (1) the rationale of the approach; (2) the process of valuing; (3) the teaching methods used to achieve the specific purpose to the approach; (4) an instructional mode or system of procedures used by teachers to…

A step-by-step explanation is provided of SOLVE (Solutions, Outcomes, Liabilities, Values, and Evaluations), a method for resolving moral problems to satisfy others as well as the individual conscience. As indicated in introductory comments, SOLVE separates moral dilemmas into their constituent parts. Each moral problem has a number of…

This instructor's manual presents a course designed to help the child care worker gain a better understanding of normal adolescent development, by focusing on adolescent behavior and developmental tasks, and by exploring ways in which adolescents may accomplish these developmental tasks. The manual is divided into four sessions which may involve 1…

This report advocates the use of a process approach in learning about the environment and supports the teaching of responsible environmental decision making skills through an inquiry and valuing focus. Teaching is viewed as a process of structuring experiences, raising questions, sharing activities, and guiding students to the attainment of…

This guide for educators, produced by the National Alliance for Optional Parenthood, contains 20 activities designed to help adolescents explore the issues of parenting, with a special emphasis on parenthood as a choice. Activities to implement the learning objectives are suggested, including values clarification exercises, infor- mation sharing,…