All schools should work in partnership with families and other community members to develop and implement character and citizenship education programs. While the development of character is not solely a school responsibility, schools historically have viewed character development and citizenship education as central to their mission. Today, many communities are experiencing significant signs of moral decline and deficiencies of personal ethics, from government and business scandals, to substance abuse, to increasing violence. Young people are playing a significant part in this trend, as evidenced by increasing rates of murder, assault, theft, cruelty, bigotry, and sexual abuse among them. Moreover, so many of these negative behaviors are occurring in schools that the public now ranks safety as a primary education-related concern.
Character education is important to both individual students and to society.
The maintenance of democracy depends on people respecting one another, on civility, and on personal ethics. A primary function of public education is to prepare students for their roles as citizens. We cannot expect them to obey the law, be responsible, and act with civility if we fail to give them necessary instruction. A number of communities have developed character and citizenship programs involving faculty, parents, and the community at large in identifying the aspects of character appropriate for the school to promote. ASCD envisions character education as the teaching of community-shared values that are guided by the principles of democracy.