Issues in Multicultural Education free essay sample

The El Centro Elementary School District is made up of 8 elementary schools, one kinder-eighth, and two junior high schools (7-8). (Local Ed. Agency Plan 2012) This diverse school district is located in the city of El Centro, California in the Imperial County. Through my research I have discovered that at this time the El Centro Elementary School District does not have any type of citizenship character education as part of their curriculum. â€Å"Students are benefiting today from having the opportunity to practice moral character at school† (EDU-230, Lecture 6, 2013). This is a problem I feel needs to be looked at, assessed and solved. The fact that the El Centro Elementary School District does not have a character education program as part of its curriculum is due to the fact that district administrators, individual school administrators and teachers have not pushed for the implementation of this type of program. I believe that in order to remedy this situation those parties (district administrators, school administrators, and teachers) that have been complacent when it comes to character education plus community, parents and students must band together to provide the solution. We will write a custom essay sample on Issues in Multicultural Education or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In this case that solution would be the implementation of a character education program as part of the El Centro Elementary School districts curriculum. In order for a character education program to be put into effect in the El Centro Elementary School District first an established character education program must be selected. The program selected is the â€Å"Character Counts! † program. It will cost $3000 to purchase the standard Character Counts, 4. 0 package. This package contains awareness and curriculum materials, lesson plans and activities. This package also includes resources and training for school districts who adopt this program (EDU-230, Lecture 6, 2013). The $3000 cost can be deferred by grants and or fund raising (Character Counts, 2013). In addition, in order to successfully implement character education, schools are encouraged to: Take a leadership role to bring the staff, parents and students together to identify and define the elements of character the want to emphasize; Provide training for staff on how to integrate character education into the life and culture of the school; Form a vital partnership with parents and the community so that students hear a consistent message about character traits essential for success in school and life; and Provide opportunities for school leaders, teachers, parents and community partners to model exemplary character traits and social behaviors. (EDU-230, Lecture 6, 2013) Once the package for Character Counts is purchased a three member team (eg. an administrator, councelor and teacher) goes through a three day intensive training course at a model school (Character Counts, 2013). After this training is completed, â€Å"Implementation time is dependent on this group, the school district, and school administration† (Employee at CC! , personal communication via phone, Oct. 2013). The employee went on to say, â€Å"That after this initial training is complete the implementation of the Character Counts program, on average can be implemented into a school’s curriculum with in a months time† (Employee at CC! , personal communication via phone, Oct. 2013). â€Å"When personnel at schools embrace a character education program s their own the result is the highest degree of implementation of the program into the curriculum† (G. Skaggs N. Bodenhorn, 2006). With the implementation of the character education program, Character Counts!  into the El Centro Elementary School District curriculum we should expect positive effects in the areas of student academic success, higher attendance rates, and lower suspension rates. Petersen and Skiba define specific traits to be instilled in children through character education programs as â€Å"(a) self respect, (b) a concern with others feelings, (c) moral reasoning and (d) values such as kindness, responsibility and trustworthiness† (Peterson Skiba, 2001). These traits described by Peterson and Skiba (2001) are also expected outcomes of the implementation of the character education program â€Å"Character Counts! † into the curriculum of the El Centro Elementary School District.