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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? | Thoughts on Public Education

How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? | Thoughts on Public Education:

How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? - by Jeff Camp

By Jeff Camp

My daughter’s first-grade report card came in two sections, one related to her academic work and the other for her teacher’s feedback about the character she displayed in school. Did she play well with others? Did she participate in class? Did she take risks?

In a few years, my daughter’s report cards will become less personal, and probably less interesting. Letter grades and test scores will assume for her the central role that they play for just about everybody in education.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. – Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963.
“I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY FOUR LITTLE CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY LIVE IN A NATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER.” – MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., I HAVE A DREAM, 1963.

For the past decade or so, the most pursuedgoal of K-12 education in America has been pretty clear: Ensure that all children master essential academic content, and do so in a way that can be verified through tests.

One premise of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was that predictable patterns of