Veteran and now-retired educator Deb Austin Brown recently wrote a post for the Charelston Gazette-Mail about having the answer to what’s desperately missing in America’s public education system- and it’s not another educational fad.

"These last three years, I have watched from the sidelines as educational stories were written and broadcast in America. During that time I have kept up with research and reading, I have volunteered in schools, I have talked with students and teachers. I have listened and learned,” Brown said.

After that research and reading and listening, Brown has arrived at a conclusion on what students need from schools that they aren’t getting: character education.

"During my teaching career, I loved the new trends and technology that came down the pike, but I found they worked best when synchronized with character education. It is the weaving together of academic and character threads that strengthens the fabric of American education and the fabric of our American economy,” she says.

"In order to train a most efficient and productive workforce, schools need to equip kids with character skills as well as academic skills. The American workplace needs students who are respectful, responsible, honest, trustworthy, skilled and hard working.”

Brown defines character education by the “9 Cs:” critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, common respect, core integrity, civic responsibility, character and the common good.

Brown encourages educators to listen to her advice and spend the summer learning more about how to promote character education in their classrooms.

Read Brown’s full post here.

Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

6/1/2016