This 295-page guidebook, subtitled “A Violence Prevention Guidebook for High Schools”, is available online as a series of pdfs. It provides a basic methodology for proceeding from “awareness” through “concern” to “action” building on the ideas of nonviolent activist Mohandas Gandhi. The units in the Guidebook are designed to help teachers nurture in their youth and in themselves: 1) a disciplined mind – awareness – there are other ways of thinking and acting, you can control your feelings and thoughts, you have an important role to play in the world; 2) a compassionate heart – concern – becoming empathetic and deepening the desire to act on behalf of others; 3) a courageous hand – action – putting compassion into practice by standing with others in service and against the forces and forms of oppression/domination (social change); 4) a committed will – perseverance – pledging to be a doer of peace and a teacher of peace. It provides a pledge of nonviolence as a key element of the program that can be used in various settings.
The units include the following:
Unit 1: Introducing Gandhi and His Principles
Unit 2: Respect
Unit 3: Anger
Unit 4: Nonviolent Problem-Solving & Nonviolent Resistance
Unit 5: Making Amends & Forgiveness
Unit 6: Our Oneness with the Earth & Challenging Materialism
Unit 7: Courage & Solidarity: Overcoming Our Fears & Standing with Others Who Are Treated Unfairly
Unit 8: Courage: Challenging the -ISMS: Sexism, Racism, Nationalism & War
Archive
Multiple Responses, Promising Results: Evidence-Based, Nonpunitive Alternatives To Zero Tolerance
Research brief by Child Trends that finds that zero tolerance school discipline policies have not been proven effective by research and may have negative effects, making students more likely to drop out and less likely to graduate on time. Instead, the brief recommends the use of nonpunitive disciplinary action, such as behavior interventions, social skills classes, and character education.
Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education
A short introduction (4-pages) to the 11 principles of character education espoused by the Character Education Partnership (CEP)
Developing and Assessing School Culture: A New Level of Accountability for Schools
This 8-page CEP position paper argues that education in our nation is at a defining moment, one with the potential to reshape our national conversation about school improvement. Successful schools–ones that foster both academic excellence and ethics–have positive school cultures (or “climates”). CEP defines a positive school culture broadly to include all aspects of school life, including a safe and caring environment, a powerful pedagogy and curriculum, student motivation and engagement, professional faculty culture and relational trust, parent partnerships, and community collaboration. The paper presents case studies and educational research showing the impact of school culture on students’ academic achievement and social behavior. Because a positive school culture is central to student success, the authors argue we must address how to help all schools develop effective cultures. Since what gets measured matters, schools must also be held accountable for having positive school cultures and must have tools for assessing their culture. If we are to prepare students to be lifelong learners and 21st century ethical citizens, we must develop a new “school report card” that includes not only test scores but also concrete indicators of the quality of school culture.